


In Given Time

by readerconsumed



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Deadpool Thought Boxes, Electrocution, Eventual Smut, Flashbacks, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Language, M/M, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Torture, Waterboarding, Weapon X Project, suffocation, the fluff will come I promise, workshop roomies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-09-13 06:45:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 87,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9111178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readerconsumed/pseuds/readerconsumed
Summary: Wade has been recruited into the Superhero Workshop and finds that he's not the only one that get's under Ajax's skin when they bring in a new, slightly young and gangly member to the facility.(Or: AU where Peter also acquires his powers in the Superhero workshop)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m following the movie plot line for Deadpool. I know the story takes place very differently in the comics but honestly it’s easier this way and I’m messing with canon a lot anyway so it doesn’t reeaaally matter.

It was safe to say that Wade was done. He had, had enough of the bullshit doctors and their bullshit medicine and their bullshit torture.

He wanted out. Had wanted out as soon as they had told him that he wasn’t really part of a Superhero program at all, maybe even before that moment.

 

He’d rather die than have to be subjected to another one of their lame ass torture methods again and again to pull a reaction out of all the crap they had dumped into his body.

At least that’s what he told himself over and over again to make himself feel stronger than he already was. That their methods were weak. That they didn’t know how to torture the right side of a barn let alone a trained mercenary.

 

He spat out the blood and spit that had been collecting in his mouth as one of the resident Goonies struck him over and over with what he assumed was a very weak wrist because he was going in for the fifth hit and Wades face was still pretty much intact, no broken bones or anything.

 

“Fuckin' Pansy-ass. See this is what happens when you drag crack dealers off the street and let them try their hands at actual physical labour.”

The man growled above him and swung with a bit more reverence this time, hitting Wades face with a sickening ‘Crunch’ .

 

Yup, there goes the nose. Fuck that was going to hurt for a good while until some asshole punched it back into place. He wriggled in his constraints as the goon strode off; obviously very satisfied with the damage he’d caused Wade’s face.

 

“Awh where ya goin’ sweatheart? We were just touching on my kink list! Get your sexy ass back here!”  Wade hollered after the man as he continued to wiggle.  

 

The “bed’s” the “patients” were provided weren’t exactly comfortable, he had expected beds of more the foam or feather persuasion than the iron and cloth covering they were given.

None of them were moved from their beds unless it was to be put in some or other torture device and it was technically more of a gurney than an actual bed.

 

It was obviously easier to get the patients where they needed to be without too much effort, and it must have helped that the gurneys could be changed around so that the person strapped down was pretty much upright in a standing position, as Wade had been for the past two days.

 

His legs and hands had gone all numb and tingly about seven hours ago already, which was slightly concerning. He wasn’t about to go through all of the crap they had put him through just for his fucking limbs to fall off. Now that would be a real bummer.

 

He had been there too long already. He was supposed to have made his grand escape months ago!

Sometimes  he wondered if he had just lost his touch somewhere along the line, or if the facility had made him too weak for his brain to be able to function in the way he needed for his escape.

 

Or - and this one scared him the most – maybe subconsciously he didn't actually want to get out. He wanted the cure, he had sought it out so desperately for so long, it seemed weak of him to give up now.

 

But the place was seriously starting to depress him. It forever wreaked of blood and strong chemicals, there were other smells too that were probably the result of some poor person losing control of their bowels and/or bladder because of the rigorous “treatment” they were being subjected to.

 

That was Wade's favourite. The way the “Doctors” always skirted over words and descriptions of what they were doing. For instance calling it a “Facility” instead of  a prison, “Treatment” instead of torture and saying things like “Please calm down Mr. Wilson or else this may be uncomfortable” instead of “If you don't stop moving, I'm going to shove this needle into your arm until it touches bone and then you're really going to feel hurt.”

 

He wonders if he had known... would he have still gone through with it? It didn't seem worth it anymore. Why was he there? He didn't need to live out his last days in some torture chamber where he hadn't even seen daylight for who knew how long, he needed to be somewhere else... with some _one_ else.

 

His blood ran cold as he thought of her and how long it had been since he'd seen her.

Vanessa had become his rock so quickly that he battled to even think of the times before they had  gotten together. He had wanted to do this for her, that had been part his motivation to accept the sketchy ass deal. That and the fact that he had realised how much he really did not actually want to die, especially not from something as common as cancer.

 

He barely flinched when he heard a sudden and ear piercing scream from the next room over that had chills run up and down his spine. The noises didn't really surprise him anymore, but they sure as hell freaked him out.  

The scream was definitely female he thought as he strained his ears to see if he could figure out what they were doing to her. It had become a sort of morbid game of his to try and guess the torture methods being used without actually having to see it.

 

Despite his games, he often found himself dry heaving to the side of his bed as he listened.

He could always seem to handle what they were doing to him with a certain amount of gusto, but it was hearing what they were doing to the others that made his blood boil.

 

He didn’t really know any of them but the ones he had spoken to had been nothing but pleasant despite their circumstances. They were good people. Sick people. People that were on their last leg and needed help.

Obviously there was the odd asshole that had freely offered themselves up for the experimentation in order to gain the powers they were promised, but they were few and far in between, which made Wade wonder how much of a transition these good people had to go through in order to be the killing machines needed by the still unknown organization.

 

The voice screaming now was one he knew belonged to a woman he had spoken to earlier in the week, before they had dragged her into an isolated room and she’d become the background audio for the last couple of days.

 

Wade didn’t have time to ponder what torture method was being used on the woman today as he was suddenly brought out of his thoughts by the sound of one of the large metal doors being opened.

 

He watched with a sneer as Francis sauntered into the middle of the large, dank room.

The “Facility” always kind of reminded him of the old Cathedrals and Synagogues he had come across in his travels, where the middle was an open high rise of arches that formed a hollow circle with doors running around the structure leading off into various hallways and rooms, or in this case labs.

 

They liked to keep a lot of the test subjects out around the middle area, separated by thin sheets or plastic room separators. It was basically a pit stop for all the subjects to dry out in between sessions.  

“Oh hey! Francis! Buddy! Where’ve you been darlin’?” Wade drawled as Francis rolled his eyes over to the constrained man. “I was beginning to think you’d run out on me. Not been cheatin’ on me have you? Torturing some other handsome hunk in another top secret superhuman facility across the road?”

 

Francis smirked and meandered over to Wade's side, walking slowly, his hands casually placed behind his back as if he were strolling through the park.

 

“Ah Wade, still no mutation I see? I was hoping to come back to your lips having grown shut.”

 

“Now why would you go and say something mean like that Francy? You know you love the bullshit that comes out of my beautiful mouth.”

 

Francis didn’t answer, instead he turned his attention to the scuffling noise coming down the hallway. His Goonies were dragging a very scrawny looking body into the room by their underarms and a hood over their head as the person put up a pretty impressive fight.

 

“Ah! Finally, I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” Francis smiled wickedly as the person was forced down into the chair and the men began to strap the gangly limbs in place. It seemed like the chair was one of those old psych chairs they used in those creepy mental hospitals back in the day, equipped with its own leather cuffs for the feet and hands.

Wade switched his gaze between Francis’ excited expression and the body in the chair with growing curiosity.

Francis had turned his casual saunter towards the person in the chair and grabbed the hood off their head as soon as he reached them, revealing a pair of wide brown eyes that started frantically roaming over every aspect of the room he was being held captive in, landing on every detail, including Wade, where his gaze faltered and he stared longer, his eyes growing wider with fear as he took in the state of the other man.

 

“Mr. Parker, I’ve gotta say, I’m a tad disappointed in how little it took to capture you.” Francis drawled, grabbing the boys chin between his fingers and forcing his eyes up. “Surely your father taught you some of his evasion techniques? Considering that’s all he ever really managed to do for most of his life.”

 

The boy sneered back at the man above him before breaking into a faux innocent expression. “I’m afraid I’m not sure of whom you are referring to Mr. Ajax, sir.”

 

Francis clucked his tongue and let go of the boys face. “Now, now Peter, is that really how you’re going to do this? I mean I don’t really care either way because this was going to happen anyway, I just thought you may not want to antagonize me too much.”

 

“Peter? What happened to 'Mr. Parker'? Are we friends now? First name basis and all, I assume that’s the case. Are we gonna have a sleep over? Gonna braid each others hair? Gotta say though, my hair may be long enough but I think you’re gonna have problems queue ball.” The boy, Peter, snarked back.

 

Wade snorted at that, making Francis gaze briefly at him with disdain before moving back to Peter’s own cocky expression and he sighed dramatically. “I want you to remember the choice you’ve just made Peter. I was hoping we could somehow make this as civil as it could be, with respect to your father.”

 

Peter’s face scrunched up in disgust at the words, leaning back slightly, he launched a wad of spit at Francis the glob landing on the other man’s chin. “ _Fuck_ your civility _Ajax_.”

 

Wade raised his eyebrows at the young man. Shit he had guts. He was also incredibly fucking stupid.

 

Francis blinked but otherwise showed no outward emotion as he wiped his thumb across his chin to remove the boy’s spit. “Mr. Parker, I am happy to inform you, that as of this moment, you have been recruited into the “Superhero Workshop”, where you will be placed under rigorous circumstances which we hope will result in a mutation of some sorts, which will then hopefully be of some or other use to us.” Francis carded his fingers through Peter’s hair, where he then grabbed it at the roots and pulled violently, forcing a grunt out of the younger man.

 

“I truly hope that you do not die on us Mr. Parker” It was then that Francis smiled wickedly as he brought Peter’s face down hard onto his knee with a loud crunching noise that made Wade cringe as the blood instantly flowed from the boys nose. “ I’d love to see you live up to your father’s expectations.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Vixen13 for the encouragement ;)


	2. Chapter 2

 

“What the fuck Francis?” Wade called out from across the room. Francis had pretty much knocked the snot out of the poor kid with so much force that he doubted the boy would have been able to keep his head attached to his shoulders if it weren’t for Francis still holding a hand in his hair.

 

“Beatin’ on kids now? Is that what it takes to make your man points go up these days?”

 

“Shut it Wilson, this has nothing to do with you, as usual.” Francis called back with an air of nonchalance, lifting Peter’s head back to examine his work, only to see a slight smile on the boy’s face. “And what may I ask is so amusing Mr. Parker?” 

 

Peter giggled. He actually giggled, which made Wade raise an eyebrow in interest. This kid was something else, something nutty. Wade kinda liked it.

 

“I was hopin’ I was gonna be the first one to hold ‘Francis’ over your head while I was here, but I see someone already beat me to it Frankie.” The words had come out slurred and barely audible as the boy tried to recover from the sneak attack to his face.

 

Francis hummed as he let go of Peter’s hair, allowing the boy’s head to fall forward. He turned back to his Goonies with a blank expression on his face, which Wade knew from experience was just Francis trying to keep his shit together. 

 

“Make sure to get Mr. Parker a good bed, with nice strong restraints. We wouldn’t want his stay with us to be...uncomfortable.”

 

the last part was said with a sneer in Peter’s direction and it somehow made Wade hate Francis a little more than usual. 

 

This was a  _ kid _ Francis was looking to torture, granted he was probably in his early twenties or late teens at least but Wade doubted that he could have done anything in his short years to warrant what was going to happen to him, and it made Wade’s pulse spike angrily as they manhandled the boy’s arm. 

Peter still seemed a little dazed as they rubbed the alcohol swab over his vein to prepare him for the needle.

 

“Nnhho.” He mumbled out as they got the needle closer. 

 

Wade watched as the kid shook his head, the movement starting out sluggish but growing violent, fast. 

“No!” He yelled as the needle broke the surface of his skin and the weird coloured liquid slowly making its way through the tube. “I don’t want this! Franc- Ajax! Please!” 

The boy had gone from smug, to begging in seconds, which Wade could tell was very satisfying to Francis.

 

Peter was freaking out and thrashing all over the place, making it difficult on the goons who were trying to hold him down which in turn made Wade strain against his own cuffs, as if he could somehow manage to get out and help.

 

“Please! Ajax! Ajax plea-.” The younger man's cries were cut short by another swift punch to the face courtesy of Francis. 

“Now Mr. Parker, you’re not really allowing me the opportunity to practice my bedside manner with the amount of fuss you’re kicking up. What happened to the brave young lad I witnessed earlier?” Francis taunted in a sickly sweat voice that oozed condescension. 

 

The boy swallowed and shook violently as he continued to watch the liquid enter his arm. And then he screamed a loud, gravelled out “No” that made even Francis flinch. “GET IT OUT!” 

 

Wade’s eyes grew wide at the reaction, not having actually witnessed anyone kick up so much fuss _before_ the treatments and tests were administered . 

 

“What the hell are you giving him Francis?!” Wade yelled with wide eyes, still pulling against his own restraints.

 

Francis just laughed as he watched the horrified expression cross Peter’s face as the concoction raced into his body. “The same thing everyone else got Wilson. Poor Peter here just knows the unfortunate results of many, many failed experiments with the same serum, don’t you Mr. Parker?” 

Peter was still shaking violently, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to stifle his panic. 

“Shhh.” Francis cooed mockingly as he grabbed Peter’s face and leaned in close. “Your father would be very disappointed to see you acting this way Peter. So…” Francis’ lip twisted up sinisterly “Weak.” 

 

“S-screw you.” Peter stammered out shakily. He wasn’t looking Francis in the eyes though, either it was out of fear or because he was too preoccupied with the last dregs of serum rushing into his system, either way, Wade easily caught sight of the instant slump in the boy’s posture, as if he’d already decided fighting just wasn’t going to be a realistic option.

  
  
  


They had eventually moved Peter to a gurney similar to Wade’s. The boy hadn’t spoken since they’d given him the serum and they hadn’t come back for him since to move him to his own “room”. That was over two hours ago. 

 

Wade had fallen in and out of consciousness during that time and when he finally managed to open his eyes again, it was to another pair of soft brown ones staring back at him from across the room.

 

“You sick?” Peter asked quietly after a few moments of mutual staring.

 

“In the head? ” Wade asked sarcastically and smiled widely at the boy.

Peter just frowned.

 

“Cancer.” Wade conceded casually. “Like everywhere.” He continued with shrugged. “But seriously, I’m not too well upstairs either.”

 

Peter hummed and Wade could see pity in the younger mans eyes. He’d never liked that look, not from anyone.

“This was your only shot then? To get better?” 

 

“Yeah.” Wade sighed and turned his head upwards to stare at the ceiling “I’m obviously not too great when it comes to the whole life choices shtick.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Peter whispered back, still staring at the side of Wade’s face. “This - it was meant to be a good thing. They were going to help people.”  He could feel his stomach twisting with guilt and shame at having to watch the people in the facility suffer the way they were. It wasn’t right. All of it was his dad’s life work, his dream, and it had been distorted into something cruel. 

 

Wade snorted. “Yeah. Sure kid.”

 

Peter frowned back at the other man’s nonchalance “No, really, they-.”

 

“Listen.” Wade interrupted with a huff. “Ever hear that saying ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’?” Wade asked, turning his head to look back at the boy, eyebrow raised. “Well it basically means that I don’t give a fuck what the intentions were.”

Even if the boy meant what he was saying… It wasn’t about to change anything anyway. It wouldn't change the amount of time Wade had wasted there, and it wouldn't take back everything that had been done to him.

 

Wade watched Peter’s face closely as the earnestness fell away and was replaced with what looked like shame with maybe just a skosh of guilt. Wade felt a little bad for causing that look but at the same time, it had been easy to deduce that Peter knew more than any regular kid his age should know about the sketchy superhero facility, and that made Wade wary. 

 

“I'll us get out of here.” 

 

It was a good thing that Wade had a soft spot for enthusiasts, because any other man would have downright laughed at the boy, especially considering how sure he had sounded.

 

“Who’s this ‘us’ then?” Wade asked conversationally, the corner of his lips twitching as he watched the boys determined expression.

 

“You and I. Us, everyone? As many people as I can get out of here.”

Wade just hummed and moved his slight grin towards the ceiling. “Let me know when the Great Escape is actually upon us then Baby Boy. I’d be happy to knock some heads on the way out.”

 

“It’s Peter.”

 

“What’s Peter?”

 

Peter snorted and shook his head. 

“My name.  As much as I _ love  _ the nickname.” Peter accentuated the word with a dramatic eye roll “I realize I still haven’t introduced myself.”

 

Wade nodded knowingly at hearing the name. As if he hadn’t already heard Ajax cooing it mockingly while he was beating the snot out of the kid. 

 

“Not to be rude but I wasn’t ever really going to ask for it. This whole situation doesn’t really seem the place for a light gab and exchange of personal information and dirty sex secrets. Although if that’s what you wanna do like I’m all ears man.”

 

Peter stared amusedly back at the other man while he ran his mouth. He thought that it may have been a common occurrence considering how Ajax had reacted to him as well. That was good. He could use someone around that could possibly give him a run for his money by talking complete nonsense. It may just make him last a little longer in the facility in order to find a way out. 

 

He didn’t even know where or how he was going to even start planning an escape. It wasn't like it was something he had to do in the past, or something that was a regularly scheduled class at school. He had always definitely been more book smart than street smart to begin with.

 

All of it was just madness. Innocent people locked up and tortured in the hopes that someone, somewhere along the line was going make money out of it. It made Peter sick to think that there were actually people like that out in the world. 

 

“How many?” Peter whispered despairingly. “How many people since you’ve been here?”

 

He didn’t really want to know, but at the same time, if he did then maybe it would give him a mental kick to start planning their escape.  

 

Wade huffed and his brow furrowed in what Peter took as mild annoyance at the subject. “What? You mean like how many have died or how many have actually gotten out semi sane?”

 

Peter glared back at Wade as if the other man was stupid not to get what he was asking.

Of course Wade knew Peter was asking about the deaths though, it just wasn't exactly his favourite topic of conversation.

 

“It’s not like I keep a tally or anything goin’ kid. I just told you I don’t even ask for names!” Wade grumbled, returning the boys glare.

 

“And I think you're bluffing.” Peter countered. “You don’t seem the man to just casually watch everything going on around him and not notice those who don’t come back. I’m not stupid, even if you didn’t care, you’d still know.”

 

Wade clenched his jaw with the effort not to shout. He didn’t  _ want  _  to talk about the numbers because he knew this kid would somehow reverse all of the work Wade had done to convince himself that that’s all they were. Just numbers. 

 

He wanted rub at his temples in frustration as the kid kept staring a hole into the side of his face. It was something he often did when he got frustrated, but it wasn’t really possible at that moment, what with him being strapped down and all, so he just settled on grinding his teeth.

 

“I thought I talked a lot.” He grit out with a tired sigh.

 

“You do.” The kid replied with seemingly no change in his expression.

 

“Ten.” Wade sighed out as the faces rushed back into his memory.

The kid was right. He remembered them all, always would. “Ten since I’ve been here and I’m not even sure I’ve been here all that long.”

 

The reaction on the younger man’s face was all Wade needed to see to know he probably held himself accountable in some way for all of those deaths. Which Wade found equal parts interesting and suspicious.

 

“I meant what I said.” Peter mumbled as he finally turned his face away from staring at the older man. The reality of the number of people having settled in his stomach and making him nauseous. “We’ll get out of here.”

 

Wade hadn’t been all that optimistic since he’d been brought in. Sure he would crack a joke at almost every given opportunity and drive Francis insane, but mostly his own mind had been rather sullen, so he didn’t really know how to take the flicker of hope the kid’s words sent through his chest. If not for him, then maybe for others that deserved to get out.

 

“I believe that you believe that kid.” Wade murmured. He suddenly felt really tired, all the mention of escape and hope had just gone and done it. It’s not that he hadn’t already tried many, many times before. It just hadn’t panned out very well and honestly it had just left him in worse shape at the end of the day than he’d usually be. 

 

“Guess that’s a start.” Peter mumbled back. He had suddenly developed a rather nasty itch on his nose and was wriggling it around like that woman from the movie “Bewitched”, which made Wade chuckle quietly.

 

He dragged his eyes down Peter's arms and he could already see the red and blue blotches on his skin from where they had grabbed him and how tightly they had secured his wrists, as if someone like him could somehow manage to get out. 

 

His future escape plans seemed to dwell in some way on the scrawny looking boy next to him, but somehow, that annoying little glimmer of hope he had seen flicker through Peter's eyes earlier was starting to snake its way through him too. 

“Name's Wade by the way.” He mumbled, trying to sound aloof. 

 

Peter gave the older man a gentle smile, the look reminding Wade of how much the kid really didn't belong there.

 

“Hey Wade.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeeeaaah so I see now that this could have been part of the first chapter... But I generally don't know what I'm doing so that's my excuse.  
> The next chapter is going to be longer! 
> 
> Thank you all for the comments and kudos so far! (^_^)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaaaay so this is where that "torture" tag comes in. Please be careful guys, I think if you're claustrophobic you may want to be careful when reading towards the end of the chapter as well. 
> 
> I have limited medical knowledge so if something sounds wrong, it's very possible that it is.

It took less than two days for Peter to decide that he was going to die.

 

He was going to die in a facility that no one knew about except for a select group of scientists and some hired muscle. Oh yes and the people the scientists seemed hell bent on killing instead of curing/mutating. 

 

He was going to die in a place where the floor was always somehow wet, which had made the place horribly cold during the night time and like a humid rain forest during the day.

 

And it  _ stank _ !

 

Seriously though, the place reeked to high heavens and Peter had mentioned that fact at regular intervals throughout the first day until Wade had cracked and threatened to “Treat Peter to a real stink”. He didn’t doubt that the older man was very capable of doing just that, so he decided to let it go… for the time being. 

 

The first day… if he could just go back to the first day and stay there until they figured a way out, then everything would be okay. 

 

He had almost felt like he could get through it all, but that was only because he had someone by him to distract him. That person wasn’t there anymore and Peter wasn’t feeling as confident as he usually was.

 

“Decor could use a bit of work.” He mumbled out hoarsely, staring at the walls of the small, empty room they had moved him to not ten minutes ago.

 

Okay so not the  _ whole  _ of the first day was fine, just the parts where he and Wade had ended up talking the ears off of the other residents. It was mostly Wade though. 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“ _ Nineteen!? _ ” Wade shrieked way too dramatic than was needed.

 

“By god’s! You’re a baby! A tiny tot! A wee little thing! A  _ Millennial _ !” Wade gasped out the last bit just as dramatic as before.

 

“Seriously?” Peter shot back with a furrowed brow. “You said you were 28.” 

 

“Yeah so?”

 

“So that makes you a millennial too dumbass!” 

 

Wade seemed to contemplate that thought for a while before he responded. “That is absolute bullshit.” He sniffed. “Don’t lug me in with the millennials. I’m an eighties baby, baby!”

 

“Ah yeah, and what age group do you classify as millennials then? Peter asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I dunno.” Wade shrugged. “All those idiots born in nineties? No offense.”

 

“Some taken… But you’ll be very unhappy to know that they group millennials as people within the ages of eighteen to thirty-five.” Peter didn’t realise how satisfied he’d be with the expression on the other man’s face until he actually saw it. 

 

“What the shit!?” Wade yelled rather loudly, causing not only Peter, but the Goons from across the room to glare at him.

 

“Where did you get  _ that  _ nonsense from?”

 

“Read it somewhere.” Peter also thought it was kind of general knowledge but he didn’t say that part out loud and risk himself looking a little arrogant. 

 

Wade huffed and turned his gaze resolutely to the ceiling. “Probably the internet.”

 

“Uhm, yeah, probably, cause there kinda tends to be a lot of useful information there grandpa.” 

 

“I prefer ‘Daddy’.”

 

“Ew.”

 

Wade was just about to make what looked to be another snarky comment before Peter noticed him draw his mouth closed slowly and stare over Peter’s shoulder.

 

Peter swung his head to look at whatever Wade had been looking at, catching site of a pretty intimidating looking woman with short, dark hair and a stern expression. He swallowed thickly as he noticed two other goons flanking her and walking straight towards him and Wade. 

 

The woman stopped at the foot of Peter’s bed and smirked down at him. 

 

“Don’t worry, we’re not here for you.” She said as she patted Peter’s foot in a weak gesture of reassurance whilst eyeing Wade. “Not yet anyway.”

 

“Hey Angelface!” Wade piped up cheerily, although Peter doubted there was any sincere cheer within a thousand miles of the place. “I missed you.” Wade continued in sing song voice, swaying his feet back and forth and batting his eyelashes at the woman.

It was a good act, but Peter had been watching Wade carefully and had noticed how tense he’d gotten when the woman walked over to them.

 

The only answer the woman gave was a slight grunt before twitching her head in Wade’s direction as a indication for one of the Goons to go to him.

 

Peter watched as the man kicked down the latch holding wheel still on Wade’s gurney and began to move him. 

 

“Wa-wait!” Peter started panicking as he watched Wade get wheeled past the front of his own bed. “Where are you taking him?” 

 

“Don’t worry Petey! It’s fine. I’ll be back! Heh, ‘I’ll be back.’” Wade chuckled as he said the last part in a poor attempt at an Arnie accent. 

 

“Get it?” Wade yelled over his shoulder as they wheeled him further away. “Terminator! We’ll continue laughing at that when I get back!” Once again, Wade’s voice was all joking, but the look he was giving Peter was one that asked for calm. As if the older man was trying to warn Peter not to kick up too much fuss.

 

Peter watched with wide eyes and not so mild panic as they took away the only person that made him feel slightly less hopeless. He knew that they weren’t just gonna sit there and chat until the mutations started to kick in, but he hadn’t actually prepared himself for any of it.

 

Wade had kind of lulled him into a semi calm and it had been shattered within seconds of the older man being wheeled away.

 

What if… what if he didn’t come back? What if Wade ended up number eleven?

 

Well if Peter hadn’t been hyperventilating before, he most certainly was now. 

 

He tried to calm his breathing, the rapid rate at which he was doing so at the moment was making him light headed. He had gone through way too much within the last couple of weeks and he was worried it was all going to come crashing down on him.

 

Logically, yeah, he knew he had to deal with it all at some point, but it couldn’t happen where he was now. He wouldn’t allow himself to break like that in front of Francis, in front of any of the people working in the facility. 

 

He closed his eyes tightly and steeled himself with his his own thoughts and began to draw in deep breaths, blocking out the noises he heard coming from the other side of the room. He didn’t want to think about whether it was Wade or not.

 

Once he had his breathing under control, he opened his eyes and moved them slowly over his surroundings. He didn’t want to become too familiar with the place because he didn’t plan on being there that long, but at the same time he needed to know what the people there were working with.

 

He knew that the mutations grew from stress. Basically everything was working to protect the body as a whole and usually what happened is that the person's internal system would recognise the mutation as a possible way of preventing stress or damage. 

 

The patients were being forced to evolve in order to prevent themselves from dying. What he really wanted to know though, was the type of methods Francis was using. Were the methods purely physical or had they strayed into more advanced options?

 

Peter shuddered at the memories of what he had been told by his father. His father had plenty theories about what could be used to unlock the mutant gene, the problem was that they were all dangerous and archaic, considering they were trying to help, not hurt, they had had to seek outside help to be able to continue testing without being so drastic in their approach. Unfortunately, the outside help wasn’t too opposed to the archaic methods 

 

A memory flickered through Peter’s head, of Francis, of when the process had been explained to him and his employers.

 

Francis had looked over the test subjects (animals at the time), all perfectly healthy and showing signs of quick recovery from various illnesses they had been exposed to before the mutant gene had been delivered.

 

“It’s interesting.” Francis had mused, while running his hand over the skittish little, brown rabbit below him “It’s almost a game of survival of the fittest wouldn’t you say?” He craned his neck to look at Peter’s father pointedly, the other man only tilting his head in slight confusion.

 

“I’m not sure I understand?” His father had commented hesitantly.

 

“Well, scientists have all come to the agreement that the mutant gene is part of an evolutionary step forward for humanity.  _ But _ not everyone has it.” Francis paused as if allowing for the chance for anyone to disagree. “So, all those subjected to this treatment as a cure, not everyone would necessarily survive and maybe that’s just nature's way of saying they weren’t supposed to.”

 

Peter remembered his father talking quietly in the hallway afterwards, to his manager at the time, saying how he refused to seek help from a company that had Eugenics enthusiasts on their payroll. 

 

The last part of the memory made Peter snort. As if what they were doing was not to improve on the human race, much like the eugenics practices back in the day. Although, he tried to convince himself that his father and the company were more concerned with improving the sick rather than the entire race.

Lately however, he wasn’t really sure what their intentions had been. At the time, it all seemed so good. Pure even. But then, humans have never really been satisfied with the pure result.

Eventually Peter started to wane in and out of his thoughts and his surroundings. He was so  _ bored.  _ Every now and again he would feel his heart rate spike and his blood run hot for no apparent reason. It almost felt as if he was feeling the serum run through his veins as he lay there.

 

He tried to distract himself by counting the tiles on the walls but ended up getting into a mental debate with himself about whether he should have been counting the broken ones too or not, so he tried singing instead. 

 

Either his singing voice wasn’t too great or the other patients weren’t as enthusiastic about “If you’re happy and you know it” as Peter was, or quite possibly it was a mixture of both because he’d received scoldings from every end of the room. He also got a good chuckle in when one of the patients yelled “Not this shit again Wade!”. 

 

His attention was caught a short while later by figures moving around by the hallway where they had taken Wade earlier on that day. It must have been hours since then though, he couldn’t tell the exact amount of time but his brain definitely supplied “hours”. 

 

He strained his neck to be able to look past the bodies of the goons as they mingled around a gurney being brought out of the hallway.

 

Wade was on it, but he looked… wrecked. Wrecked was actually a pretty kind word to describe how the other man looked. Realistically, he looked how any person would look after recieving any type of torture. 

 

Thankfully, as they brought Wade closer, Peter couldn’t see any indication of physical abuse on the parts of his body that were exposed. Despite looking tired and having bags under his eyes, it didn’t look like there were any new bruises to the ones Peter had originally seen the man with.

 

The goons paid him no mind as they deposited Wade back to where he had been before, next to Peter and moved to hook him up to a monitoring machine to keep track of his vitals, which just served to further worry Peter about what had actually happened when they took him. 

 

They left as soon as they arrived and left the two men in moderate silence, save for Wade's harsh breathing. 

 

Wade’s eyes were closed and it seemed as if he was either unconscious or just couldn’t handle opening his eyes at that point. Either way, Peter didn’t want to disturb him just yet.

 

Peter lay there quietly and watched, waited. He kept worrying about the machines going off, about Wade’s vitals slipping. He wasn’t a doctor by any means, but his dad had taught him an array of random information, one being how to read the Monitoring machine. 

 

Mostly, he was worrying about the ST-II bar, because if that bar either spiked or decreased, then that would be bad. It would mean that the heart was running out of Oxygen. Despite knowing the rest of the monitor, Peter felt the need to focus his attention on just this one aspect so that he wouldn’t have a total freak out about the fact that Wade’s heart rate was a little bit lower than usual, and so was his overall body temperature, which just made Peter want to wrap the older man in blankets and funnel coffee and soup into him. 

 

“You’re gonna blow the machine up with your mind if you stare at it like that.”

 

Peter jumped at the sudden, husky voice, his eyes ungluing from the monitor and quickly running over the other man's tired face, as if his brain was still trying to access if Wade was hurt or in pain by just the look on his face.

 

“I wasn’t sure if you were gonna come back.” Peter whispered with wide, scared eyes. The truth of his words cementing the fear he had been trying to ignore, bringing an annoying stinging to his eyes that he immediately berated himself for.

 

“Don’t do that.” Wade breathed out, closing his eyes.

 

Peter sniffed as he tried to stave away the emotions running through him. “What?” He asked petulantly, knowing exactly ‘what’.

 

Wade opened his eyes again and stared hard at the younger man, the look in his eyes gave Peter chills, because his brain couldn’t tell what emotions lay in them at that moment. “You can’t do that. Not here Petey.” 

 

Wade’s face suddenly became pleading. “You can’t let this stuff get to you or else you’re gonna walk out of here broken. I know these type of men Peter, I’ve worked with plenty of them, if they see you showing that kind of emotion, they’ll smother you with it.” 

 

Peter’s eyes were wide as he took in Wade’s words. He couldn’t help think back to how his dad always told him he could be overly emotional at times. 

 

“I can’t just… not care Wade.” Peter grit out through his teeth as he frowned.

 

Wade smiled gently.”Not what I meant. I’m not telling you to be an emotionless rock with no feelings, I’m just telling you to…have less of them while you’re here.” Wade glanced to the side as if trying to figure out how to properly word what he was trying to say. 

 

“You’re not your emotions. You can choose how you react to a situation, and I’m telling you to react as little as possible or they will come down harder on you.”

 

Peter had issue with Wade being so serious, you didn’t usually get to witness someone showing genuine emotion within the first day (was it two days now?) of meeting them. 

 

“They’re going to come back for me soon aren’t they?” Peter asked softly, averting his eyes so that he wasn’t looking at Wade anymore.

 

“I may have heard some discussion.” Wade answered back honestly. 

 

“And that’s why you’re so adamant about this discussion… Do you think I’ll even last here?” Peter knew that the aim of the program was not to kill the patients, but that didn’t mean that they cared one way or another about if you did die. Like Francis said, some people just weren’t meant to survive.

 

“Yes.” Wade answered with the same honest tone as before. “and then we’re gonna get outta this shit hole, kay?”

 

 

* * *

  
  


It hadn’t been too long after that, that the goons came back for Peter. Wade yelling after him to remember what they discussed.

 

Peter shifted as his nose continued to itch again and his legs started to cramp from being strapped down so tightly for so long. He had been in the room alone for what felt like forever now, and he knew exactly why they had done it too. They were trying to get him scared, trying to work him up. 

 

High stress levels were essential in the mutation process after all. 

 

“Calm down.” He whispered to himself as his brain ran over all the different things they would do to him when they came back. 

 

His stomach chose that moment to rumble and gurgle rather loudly, causing Peter to frown down at himself. Oh yeah. Food. 

 

He could really do with a pizza right now. Or a burger, juicy with tons of cheese and all the works! His mouth started watering at the images his brain provided and he then started to wonder if they were going to starve him half to death before they did anything else. 

Seemed a bit unnecessary but he wasn’t going to pretend he knew how they ran things.. 

 

He was just about to go into another very detailed fantasy involving him and an all you can eat garlic bread buffet when the metal door at the end of the room opened slowly and Francis and the woman that took Wade earlier walked into the room. 

 

Peter scowled at Francis, not even caring to hold back his scorn as the other man just walked calmly around the room, fiddling with various utensils and equipment, the woman standing at the bottom of his bed again with her arms folded and a match between her teeth.

 

Weirdo.

 

“And how are we feeling today Mr. Parker?” Francis asked lightly, as if he was a doctor asking his patient how they felt after a bout of flu. 

 

“Oh grand.” Peter tried for the same light tone, with maybe a tad more sarcastic bite. “I haven’t been able to locate the breakfast buffet yet though… do you guys have garlic bread? Could really go for some garlic bread right now.”

 

Francis sighed as he moved back to the gurney with what looked like a rag in hand and passed it over to the match lady.

 

“You and Wilson seem to think this attitude you share is cute, or funny somehow.” Francis put his finger lightly under Peter’s chin, tilting his head up so that the boy could look directly at him. “I can assure you, it’s not.”

 

“I dunno about that. I  _ am _ pretty darn cute.” Peter countered with a cocky smirk. 

 

Francis didn’t seem to outwardly react, just carried on giving Peter a look of disdain he’d pretty much had on his face since the younger boy got there. 

 

“Angel.” he called to the woman, releasing his hand from under Peter’s chin and moving so that the woman was now standing where Francis had been. 

 

“Not to worry Mr. Parker, we’re not going to start off with anything too strenuous, but I’m not going to tell you there won’t be any… discomfort.”

 

The match lady took that as her cue to place the rag down over Peter’s face and then pull it downwards so that it was tight against his face.

 

The sudden action and lack of vision caused Peter to let out a loud gasp as he started to struggle, knowing very well that he wasn’t going to get out. 

 

The top of the gurney, where his head was, was then lowered slightly so that his feet were now slightly higher than his head. He tried to plead with them to stop, but it all came out muffled because of the rag, or rags as he realised how thick the layer of material was over his face.

 

He could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest and his breathing had become quick and shallow. 

 

He then started to feel a slight chill on his face, creeping up to his nose. Water. The angle of the gurney causing it to slowly trickle into his nose, causing him to thrash wildly as he realised what was happening. 

The water running into his nose caused him to choke and gag, spluttering as he stupidly tried to shake his head to get it away. 

 

His brain quickly supplied that the solution was to hold his breath, as if he could somehow hold out until the water stopped. He didn’t last too long before he had to exhale, which naturally also had his body inhaling harshly, forcing the damp cloth to cling to his face and nostrils, making breathing hard and he immediately felt light headed. 

 

He could feel himself losing consciousness and if it didn’t let up soon, he was going to pass out. The adrenaline and lack of air was too much at once and his chest was starting to hurt with his efforts to breath. 

 

Just on the brink of passing out, it stopped. The rag was pulled away from his mouth and nose, but still kept over his eyes. He gasped in air in huge mouthfuls and started to cough as the air felt too harsh on his throat after choking on the water.

 

He could hear someone talking in the background, but his mind wasn’t comprehending the words. It felt like he had cotton wool in his ears, it was all muffled and his breathing was too loud, something he did catch after a moment of trying to come down from his panic was someone muttering.

 

“Again.”

 

Peter cried out loudly in protest, his voice strained and raw, just before the rags were brought down over his mouth and nose again, cutting off his voice and throwing him back into panic and all he could think about in that moment was just how wrong Wade had been.

  
He wasn’t going to last. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wasn't supposed to post this today. Okay I was but I'm a little behind so I was gonna hold it off a bit.  
> let's all clap hands for my amazing self control. 
> 
>  
> 
> The next chapter may take a little bit longer but that all depends on how hectic work gets in the next few days. Hopefully not though!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF* DONE! *COLLAPSES*  
> So much happens in this chapter. I don't know what my brain was doing.

They had brought Peter back out a few hours later, the boy looking pale and shocked. Mostly though he looked tired, as if his eyelids just wouldn’t be able to keep open anymore.

 

Wade felt grateful in that moment that Francis knew to give the patients rest in between “treatments”, he wasn’t sure how long anyone would really last if the scientists just threw everything at them all at once.

 

He had nearly given himself an aneurysm trying to get off of the gurney when he had heard Peter scream earlier on. He wasn’t sure how the kid had managed to dig under his skin so quickly, but he felt the need to at least try to protect him. It also didn’t help that he had heard the boy scream his name in particular at one point.

 

Considering Peter hadn’t come back with any visible damage and Wade had only really heard the boy scream in intervals, which lead him to assume either dunking or waterboarding. Wade had been dunked the previous day, but the difference with the way Francis did it, was that he used a sticky liquid like sap or syrup instead of water, that way it made it harder for you to breath even when they do bring you up for air.

 

He hoped that Peter would mutate quickly and painlessly. He didn’t want the boy to go through even half of the torture they had put him through.

 

He didn’t even know if Peter _would_ survive even half of what they had done to Wade, and that wasn’t Wade being full of himself or anything, but the only reason he had survived so long was because of his military training. He knew how to survive. Heck, if he had known they were going to waterboard Peter, he could have given the kid a crash course on breathing intervals.

 

They used to call that cheating back when he was training, when in actual fact that’s exactly what they had wanted them to do. To adapt and learn how to outsmart even torture.

 

He stared at the boy next to him, still surprised that they were keeping the two of them in the same room, not that it was much of a room, but at least in the same cornered off section. Maybe they had run out of space? Seemed unlikely but he couldn’t really see any other reasons for Francis to allow him someone to banter with.

 

Peter’s eyes were closed, face leaning to the side, facing Wade. He seemed peaceful enough as he slept, his breathing was even at least, but every now and then, Wade would notice how Peter’s brow would crease and the boy would whimper or moan in his sleep.

 

At some point, what seemed a few hours later although that could just be Wade’s short attention span, Peter’s eyes started to twitch, his nose scrunching up and wriggling, like he had been doing when it was itching earlier. This kid is way too adorable Wade thought with a small smile.

 

“Permission to complain about that _stink_ again please.” Came Peter’s very hoarse voice, his eyes still closed.

 

“I’d say I tried my hardest to hold it in, but I really didn’t.” Wade replied flatly

 

Peter’s face scrunched up further and his eyes opened in tiny slits before he immediately closed them again with a groan. “Why is that _light_ on?”

 

Wade had also not been too fond of the giant spot light one of the goons had left on for no apparent reason, it kinda made it hard to sleep or really keep your eyes open when you spent most of the day in the dimly lit rooms of the facility.

 

“No idea, but they obviously don’t give a shit about power bills, or global warming for that matter. Anything else you wanna complain about before you even say Hi? Seriously, no “Mornin’ Wade! Hows it goin’ Wade? You’re looking remarkably sexy today Wade!”  
  
Peter opened his eyes again slightly, if only to glare a huge hole through Wade’s face.

 

“Well Good Morning Sunshine!” Wade cooed, smiling brightly at the grumpy teen.

 

“How do you even know it’s morning?” Was Peter’s mumbled response.

 

“It’s morning whenever I wake up. I actually live by this philosophy outside of the facility too.”

 

Peter snorted before running his eyes over Wade as if assessing the other man’s well being.  
  
“Do you feel any better?” Peter asked softly. “After whatever they did yesterday I mean.”  
  
Wade smirked at the concern on the kids face. Hadn’t he told him not to do that?  
  
“Baby boy I am unstoppable, no need to throw your worries at me. How are _you_?” Wade asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow as Peter shifted at the questioning.

 

“Uhm… Sore?” Peter conceded with a frown. “My-my throat hurts.”

 

Peter’s voice cracked at the end of the sentence making it _really_ hard for Wade to concentrate on being upbeat as he watched as Peter’s face turned sad, and those eyes! He looked like someone had just kicked his puppy! Or he was the kicked puppy!

 

“Awh Petey don’t worry! They’ll probably bring food and water later, which may or may not make you feel better. Kinda all depends on your definition of the word ‘food’.”

 

Wade actually succeeded in making the younger man chuckle, which made him feel a lot happier himself than he would have expected.

“My mom once made my dad and I cook for ourselves for a whole week ‘cause we were being ‘snarky and unappreciative’.”

 

Wade snorted. “You? Snarky? Well I never!”

 

Peter chuckled lightly, cringing a little every time he swallowed because of the soreness in his throat.

“I ended up sick a lot that week. Think I can handle whatever they have here.”

 

“I’m usually the one that does the cooking.” Wade commented casually. “Vanessa’s good but she has this thing where she likes to experiment, I’m really lucky I’ve got a strong constitution or else she would have gotten me way before the cancer had.”

 

Wade smiled gently as he thought of Vanessa but his heart hurt too, which just ended up souring the good memories.

 

“Vanessa?” Peter asked with a frown.

 

“Oh!” Wade startled, blushing a little at his reverie. “That’s mah girl, the old ball gag and chain!”

 

Wade noticed a strange look cross over Peter’s face, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was before it was gone again and was replaced with a small smile.

“I bet you can’t wait to see her then when you get out.”

 

Wade thought about the last time he and Vanessa had spoken, it wasn’t good. Actually it was a very nasty fight that Wade had started, back when he had just found out about the cancer. He wouldn’t have called what he and Vanessa had all that serious, but he wasn’t sure if that’s the way it actually was or if that’s just what he made himself see so that he could feel better about breaking it off.

 

She was so young, he felt bad for stringing her along when he had something that was more than likely going to kill him. So he broke it off. He never even mentioned the cancer, thinking that would just make things so much worse.

 

But he did miss her, almost everyday. He just didn’t know if he’d still be able to be in her life after everything was done and dusted.

 

“Ah, yeah.” Wade answered simple, still debating over if she would actually even want to see him.

 

He cleared his throat and turned towards Peter expectantly. “And what about you Petey? Any hotties waiting for you back home?”

 

“Oh, ah... no. No ‘hotties’.” Peter smirked but Wade could tell he wasn’t all too into the conversation anymore.

“What’s that face for?” Wade asked at the sad little face Peter was pulling.

 

“What? Oh, I just- like I said, no one really waiting for me on sidelines back home ya know?”

 

Wade lips pulled down at the edges as he realised what Peter was really talking about, but he asked anyway.

 

“What about family?” Wade probed. “I bet they’re all super nerdy like you, and there’s beakers and shit lying all over the house.”

 

Peter smiled softly, but once again, the look seemed a bit forced, or as if Peter’s mind was elsewhere. “They were.”

 

Wade cursed at himself internally but knew his mouth was going to carry on the conversation whether his brain was telling him to or not. “I’m sorry.” He said softly, sincerely. He genuinely felt sorry for the younger man, which sent up red flags again as his trained mercenary brain told him this was not a good thing to get himself into.

 

“S’okay.” Peter shrugged off too casually. Wade wondered if the boy knew how painfully obvious his emotions played out on his face. “Not your fault.”

 

“Who’s fault was it then?” Wade asked quickly and immediately wished he could shove his own fist in his mouth because did he not know how to control himself!?

 

Peter didn’t seem to take offense to the question though, although his expression did grow colder, more steeled.

 

“You could venture a guess.”

 

“Francis.” Wade didn’t need to guess. He had picked up some of the story watching the two interact, the way Peter held the most hatred Wade had seen out of any of the patients in the facility. Hatred that didn’t come from anything but a bad past.

 

Peter hummed and turned an odd gaze towards Wade, It was confusing but it almost looked as if Peter had gotten an exciting idea in his head, his eyes widened in that light bulb way. “I should really take care of him on our way outta here.” he said evenly, the tone not matching the expression on his face and actually managing to send a chill up Wade’s spine.

 

“Baby boy, I’ll hold him down for you with the greatest of pleasure.”

 

* * *

 

The days seemed to blur in and out of each other after that. They were continuously brought in and out of their little corner of the facility, never at the same time, as if Francis enjoyed watching their expressions as one of them were rolled away.

 

Which Wade assumed was actually the point. Just like he’d seen coming from a mile away, he and Peter had become sort of attached to each other, constantly trying to make the other feel better, sharing jokes at the expense of Francis and basically playing therapist after every round of torture.

 

This, as Wade had expected, was something Francis was all too enthusiastic about exploiting. There had been instances where one or the other had mouthed off too much, or had put up a fight during treatment, which resulted in one of the on call goons beating the shit out of either one of them until the guilty party couldn’t take it anymore and agreed to endure treatment quietly.

 

It became easier and easier for Francis to manipulate the both of them that way and it made Wade’s fury against their torturer grow immensely.

 

Wade had always been on board with killing Francis on their way out when they eventually escaped, but one day Francis had done something that made Wade decide that he’d do it slowly. Even though Francis had mutated past the use of his nerve endings, Wade would find a way around that.

 

They had taken Peter in the early hours of the morning one day, while Wade had been pretty much passed out. It was a little disorienting to wake up to Peter not being there, especially when it was one of the first times he hadn’t actually witnessed the boy being taken.

 

He sat quietly the entire day waiting for them to bring the Peter back, or to at least hear him from another room, a scream would at least let Wade know that Peter was still alive! He started to realise what kind of game Francis had switched to when every little thing made Wade jump expectantly throughout the day. A muffled noise on the other end of the room, the beeping of the machines attached to other patients, the way the damn lights had been shorting at annoying intervals the entire day! It was a little maddening as he wasn’t known to be a patient person to begin with.

 

Eventually Francis had crawled out of the wood work with a small, disturbing smile on his face and he and his goons had wheeled Wade down the hall to one of the rooms they usually held ‘sessions’.

 

“He Francey, buddy, you wouldn’t happen to know where my small, doe eyed person went to would you?” Wade asked sweetly, trying his damndest not to let any venom slip into his words and unnecessarily antagonise the asshole.

 

Francis’ smile got wider above Wade as he was wheeled closer to the room. “Actually Mr. Wilson, that is exactly why I’ve brought you here today.”

 

Wade frowned up at the man as a heavy metal door was pushed open with an annoying creaking noise and Wade was wheeled into the room and placed into an upright position.

 

When his eyes eventually adjusted to the bright lighting in the room, they focused on a small figure in a wooden chair in the middle of the room. Wrists and ankles strapped to the chair tightly enough that his hands looked slightly off colour, and electrodes were attached to both sides of his chest and his temples.

 

Wade blanched as he stared at Peter’s already tired and sweat drenched face. He was breathing irregularly and his hands were held in tight fists, often clenching and unclenching as Peter stared desperately at the other man, unable to talk as what looked like a rag had been shoved into his mouth in attempt to keep him from biting through his own tongue.

 

“What is this Francis?” Wade asked lowly, his voice a tight growl, his eyes never left Peter, he wouldn’t give Francis the satisfaction of seeing how this was affecting Wade.

 

“Well Mr. Wilson, I assumed since you two were _so close_ that maybe you ought to be part of each other's sessions too!” Francis opened his arms out wide and smiled toothily as if he was the smartest motherfucker on the planet. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

 

Wade didn’t justify any of what Francis said with an answer, he knew that any smart comments not bode well for Peter.

 

Francis didn’t care about whether Wade answered or not though, actually it seemed as if he was more than happy with the silence of the usually chatty man as he sauntered over to Peter’s side, taking great pleasure in the way the younger man flinched when Francis slowly stroked the side of his face.

 

Wade had a feeling that the reaction was more from being over sensitised from the electric shocks than it was actual fear of Francis.

 

The lights dimming throughout the day finally made sense to Wade and his heart sank at the realisation at how much Peter had had to endure that day already. He was actually surprised the younger man was conscious at all.

 

“You see, we’ve been monitoring Peter’s mutation progress while we’ve been doing this, and it’s responding rather well to this treatment!” Francis crowed excitedly, making Peter jump. “Isn’t that wonderful?”

 

Once again Wade didn’t answer, he carried on looking at Peter, trying to tell the boy with only his eyes that he was going to be okay, that they were going to get out, that Peter wasn’t going to die, especially not like this.

 

Peter let off a low whine and his body shuddered as he stared back at Wade, seemingly trying to keep strong, but failing as his body started to act against him and tears slowly trickled down his cheeks.

 

Francis’ smile turned devilish as he moved over to a switch on the other side of the room. “Now _that.”_ Francis laughed, gesturing at Peter’s sobbing form. “That is the reaction I’ve been looking for all day! I haven’t been able to draw that kind of reaction out of him no matter how high I dare put up the voltage, but I bring you in here for two seconds and he’s sobbing like a five year old!”

Wade took that opportunity to glare at Francis and the obvious reasons as to why he’d brought Wade in. It was still the same game they had been playing for the past few days, only this time it was a hundred times worse.

 

“I think.” Francis directed at Wade, eyebrows raised. “This little relationship you two have developed, is going to be what finally makes you both crack.”

 

With that said, Francis flipped the switch and Wade watched with gritted teeth as Peter’s head swung back and his body twitched as the electricity shot through him, muffled screams making their way through the makeshift gag and reverberating through Wade’s mind.

 

All the while, Francis looked not at Peter, but at Wade. At how Wade’s eyes had started to water and how he had begun to struggle against his restraints. Francis retained his sinister smile throughout the whole ordeal.

  


Peter didn’t speak much after that. He had complained a lot about how sore his throat and jaw was and had said that he was really tired a lot, and had eventually asked if Wade would be alright with him if the younger man responded a little less.

 

Wade understood. Electric shock usually had those effects on a person and he wouldn’t want Peter to strain himself anymore if he could help it.

 

Peter had also started to lose a bit of his enthusiasm and his snarky comments had all but stopped, he hadn’t even laughed when Francis walked in the one day in a turtleneck sweater and Wade had said he looked like roll on deodorant with that sweater and his bald head!. That was some funny shit!

 

The whole situation had started to give Wade an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

He had done exactly what he had told Peter not to do. He was letting his emotions get in the way of his rationality. He was starting to have… feelings for this boy. Which was confusing and pretty much just not okay and totally an effect of being locked in a confined setting and made to talk to the same person over and over again.

 

Not that he minded

 

He _really_ didn’t mind actually. It was the weirdest thing. There he was, pretty much in the middle of the worst time of his life, a situation he may never escape, but all he cared about was the boy lying next to him and if they even did get out of the facility, if Peter would be alright.

 

He found himself occupying a lot of his free time thinking of Peter actually. He wanted him to get out of the facility and use that big brain of his one day.

 

It would have been a waste for the entire world if someone like Peter was reduced to something as simple as a weapon. Wade knew there was never really hope for himself, but this boy could do things.

 

He also felt himself thinking less of Vanessa. Which had scared him at first and he'd feel awful when he realized how long he had gone without thinking about her and how she was doing, what they would do when he would finally get out, what they would be. But after a while, he didn’t notice the absence in his mind that much.

 

He lay quietly, his face turned towards the ceiling , but all the while keeping a watchful eye on Peter to see if there were any changes, if maybe today the boy would be feeling up to talking.

 

He didn't seem to be getting reactions as often lately, but he still tried and sometimes it happened that Peter would smile or frown or give of a reaction to Wade's words, but the older man knew somehow that it was just Peter trying to be polite.

 

“Do you think it's sunny outside?”

 

Wade jerked his head to the side at the small voice. Peter was looking resolutely at the ceiling, no apparent emotion on his face.

 

Wade was so used to being the one doing the talking lately that he actually didn't even know how to reply, as if he needed to make the answer a good one because Peter talking didn't happen often and he didn't want to ruin it by saying something stupid.

 

Peter didn't seem to mind the other man's flailing silence though and continued.

 

“It feels like a sunny day today.” Peter stated matter of factly, his head tilting slightly as if in thought.

 

Wade still didn't say anything. He had a slight grasp on time while they had been there, working out when the most activity was among the scientists and how long he himself had been there.

 

If he was correct, it was probably early hours of the morning and winter. He couldn't tell the other man that though, it seemed unnecessary, especially if thoughts of a sunny day were helping Peter in any way.

 

“I get a sunny kinda vibe too today.” Wade said with a small smile as he looked sadly towards the younger man.

 

Peter turned his head round to look back with a small smile of his own and what looked like gratitude. Wade didn't know what for, but just seeing Peter smile… it didn't matter what the reason was.

 

Wade had been taken shortly after that. He and Peter hadn't spoken anymore words to each other, but something about the way the boy looked at him as he got taken away made Wade's pulse race, the way he had been looked at… it almost seemed like a goodbye. And he hated it.

 

It was all he thought about as Francis and Angel locked him away in the glass chamber. It was all that filtered into his mind beside the fear of dying as the air was sucked from him and replaced sharply in regular intervals. As he suffocated.

 

It was the first image that popped into his mind when Francis told him that he was going to be left there for the weekend, days without seeing Peter.

 

The most they had gone was a day, maybe a day and half. What Francis was talking about was at least three nights away from the person that owed him an explanation for the sad fucking look Wade had gotten when they had taken him away.

 

They hadn't needed to cut off the air in the chamber, his rapid breathing was enough for him to suffocate himself all on his own. All he could think about was Peter. He wouldn't be able to protect him like this, he hadn't been able to do so before but this just made him feel even more helpless.

 

Francis smirked as he pressed the button on the machine. The air was sucked from Wade's lungs and it felt like they were collapsing in on themselves, pressing hard on his heart and speeding up his heart rate, and just like Francis had promised, it stayed there, continuously suffocating but never offering the relief of more air or even no air at all.

 

Eventually Wade lost track of time as he wished for it to just be over. The pain on his chest was unbearable, his lips, mouth, throat, everything was dry from hours upon hours of gasping uselessly for breath.

 

He tried to keep his mind blank but he always wound up worrying more about what they were doing to Peter.

The thoughts and images he had in his head just kept getting worse the longer he was in the machine. He had visions of Peter dying in different, horrible situations.

 

The thoughts fueled panic and only served in making his heart rate pick up.

 

He started to feel his skin prickle after a while, almost like the beginnings of a body part going numb when you lean on it too long.

The blood in his veins started to feel hot somehow, as if he was heating up from his core and it was singing his internal organs.

 

Everything was just too _hot_!

 

He squirmed in his restraints as his body grew hotter, burning, traveling all the way to the tops of his fingers and toes. His muscles started to ache and pain, as if he'd just run ten marathons one after the other.

 

He tried to scream but failed as the lack of air didn't allow him to, causing him to gasp and choke on the attempt.  He felt his skin ripple, itchy almost, as if a thousand tiny beetles were crawling under his skin.

 

Then, all at once, everything was on fire. From his bones all the way through to his skin. His skin felt like it was tightening as he felt himself burn alive, the rippling, beetle crawling effect still there and driving him mad as it continued with everything else that was happening.

 

He blacked out.

 

When he eventually woke up, he was no longer on fire, but he _ached_ everywhere, and his skin still felt like it was moving. He felt absolutely raw as if he'd actually been on fire and was suffering through the third degree burns afterwards.

 

He felt frustration building up inside him as he continued to gasp for breath, tears building up at the corners of his eyes at the realization that he hadn't died. He wasn't free.

 

He'd dreamt that he was. Or rather he'd hallucinated it? Either way, it felt good. He was no longer restrained, he was lying on the sofa back home, comfortable and carefree, the tv blaring in the background as he wrapped his arms around the person lying on top of him, he assumed to be Vanessa.

 

He tried to distract himself from the pain with thoughts of the dream. Trying to remember every detail, the texture of the sofa under his skin, the breeze that drifted through the apartment, the shaggy brown hair he was dragging his fingers through…

 

Wade froze as he started to recall the dream in more detail… the hair. It wasn't Vanessa's. Her hair was long and almost black, this person had short, brown hair that stuck up in kinds of crazy directions.

 

Wade went with the memory of the dream, watching his hand slide through the soft hair with a type of affection he'd felt only rarely in his life.

 

He held his breath as the dream played out and the person on top of him tilted their face upwards to smile at him.

 

Wades brain stuttered as he stared back down at a pair of wide, brown eyes, face snuggling into Wade's chest as the smile turned sheepish.

 

“Hey you.” Peter whispered.

 

Wade’s chest tightened, but surprisingly it was a different feeling to the way the lack of oxygen made his chest hurt. Peter's voice was soft and warm and everything Wade could not handle at that moment.

 

He tried to bury the thoughts from his mind, feeling that they were somehow wrong, in so many ways. He had tried to be Peter’s friend and all his brain could think about was how affection starved he was and had thrown his friend into a position he probably wouldn't agree with. Just because Wade couldn't control himself around anyone that showed him the smallest bit of kindness.

 

Wade screwed his eyes shut and gasped in breath after breath, now turning back to the pain he had been trying to ignore in order to block out the thoughts he didn't want.

 

He didn't realize that there were people beside him until he heard a slight click and a gust of wind flew into his lungs as the lid on the chamber was removed.

 

The air that suddenly filled his lungs was sweat but burning as he tried to gasp as much of it in as possible, tears finally falling from his eyes at the relief of being able to breathe properly.

 

“ _Fuck_.” Francis breathed out with wide eyes, scanning them up and down Wade’s body. “Looks like someone's going to be relying a lot more on personality from now on.”

 

Wade frowned up at the man before moving his own eyes down to look at his body for the first time since he'd blacked out.

 

He gasped as he took in the sight of the skin he was actually able to see. It was blotched and scarred, there were raised, red pieces of skin that looked like he had been severely burned and then someone decided to pick at the blisters and burn him in the same spot again. He now realized why he had felt so raw, why everything felt like it stung whenever he moved.

 

“What did you do to me!?” He screamed out as loud as he could through his raw throat, actually tasting blood on his tongue as he stared up at the Francis with all the hatred he could muster in one look.

 

Francis just smirked and leaned against the chamber casually. “Only what you signed up for Mr. Wilson.”

 

Wade’s body carried on reacting without his consent, sending more tears down his face, caused by rage and hatred that couldn't be channeled anywhere else but needed to be shown.

 

“Awh, don't look so down!” Francis cooed mockingly, picking up a tablet from a nearby table and scrolling through it casually.

 

“I must say, we've really had a good weekend! Not only do I come back to Mr. Parker having mutated, but you too?” Francis shook his head almost in disbelief as he continued to smile.

 

Wade's heart sank at the words.

 

“Peter?” He croaked out with wide eyes. Some part of him felt relief that Peter hadn't died during the scientists ministrations, but at the same time, he was horrified that they hadn't been able to get out before it had happened. What if Peter looked the way Wade did? Or worse?

 

Francis didn't bother looking at Wade as he continued to speak.

“Ah yes, Mr. Parker was taken in for treatment about an hour after you. He mutated that same night.”

 

Wade struggled with himself not to scream a barrage of questions at Francis. He knew he wouldn't get all the information that way, but if he kept Francis gloating then maybe he would.

 

Peter had mutated almost three days ago. Wade had never seen anyone kept at the facility for long after that before they were taken away. He didn't even know where they were taken after that considering no one ever came back and none of the goons were as loose lipped as Wade would have hoped for people that looked so stupid.

 

He had said he was going to help Peter get out. He'd said it over and over again, every time he looked at Peter when the younger man was tired or sad, or half dead from torture, he'd whispered promises of freedom. What if Peter had already been moved from the facility and Wade wouldn't ever be able to find him again?

 

“I'd stop worrying about him. It's safe to say that at this stage you probably won't be seeing him again anyway.”

 

Wade glanced up at Francis with fear in his eyes, something that he had hoped he'd never let that man see.

 

“I'm going to kill you.” Wade grit out through his teeth, never breaking eye contact.

 

Francis was no longer smiling, his face was void of emotion as he dragged his eyes across Wade's body again, the only tell on his face was when his lip drew up in slight disgust at the other man's appearance.

 

“I look forward to seeing you try.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah I did say this would take a while!  
> It also turned out a lot longer than I anticipated which means the chapter has been split and you can expect the next part to be shorter BUT it will also be up sooner.
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter feels a little bit choppy (it does to me) but I struggled quite a bit with it, so I'm a little worried it turned out wrong but I hope to make it up in the next ones :).
> 
> *If you're looking for more Spideypool (and other random crap) you can also follow me on Tumblr: http://cometqveen.tumblr.com/


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guuuuys work really sucks ass sometimes!! This took longer than it should have cause of that (-_-).

Wade grit his teeth silently as Francis’ goons moved around him. They had moved him from the chamber and strapped him to what looked to be something resembling a dentist's chair.

He'd had plenty opportunity in that moment to knock a few of them out and escape, but he was still reeling from everything that had happened. It all felt like it was caving in on him all at once and his brain was struggling to keep up.   
The irritation under his skin wasn't helping any either. He battled to keep his thoughts focused and thought it best to allow himself to think first instead of creating a scene and getting himself killed.

The purpose, it seemed, for Wade being in the chair, was so that Francis could run tests to figure out the extent of Wade's new found abilities.   
Wade didn't feel any stronger that was for damn sure. So in a weird sense he was hoping to find out too, he figured he may be able to use it to his advantage.

Francis pulled a scalpel from the tray next to Wade and held it up in the light, smiling down at him.

“Let's start with the obvious one shall we?”

Wade watched with baited breath as Francis brought the scalpel to his chest and pressed it in deep.

Wade hissed as the tool drew blood, cutting across already raw skin.

“No elevated pain threshold.” Francis noted, with a glimmer of smug in his eyes.

Wade could have made so many comments on just how elevated his pain threshold was from dealing with Francis’ grating voice everyday, but he didn't get chance to as he felt the skin on his chest ripple and he looked down in time to see the flesh quickly knit itself back together, only leaving small traces of blood behind.

Both his and Francis eyes grew wide as they stared at the healed (sort of) skin.

“What the fuck?” Wade breathed out in a slight panic. Sure that was damn cool but it was also terrifying. In a way that he didn’t even know his own body anymore, besides the outward stuff he could actually see, it was safe to say it that none of what was happening was kosher at all!

“Perfect!”

Wade glared at the other man’s enthusiasm as he brought the scalpel down again, making Wade flinch.

Once again they watched as the wound healed itself and Francis’ interest grew larger.

“I wonder how far this can go.” He whispered to himself, looking down the length of Wade’s body as if trying to figure out where he should start next.

“This doesn’t seem like a very fun game.” Wade finally muttered, surprised that he could still manage to find it in himself to make comments like that anymore.

“Maybe not for you.” Francis responded with a smirk. “But this is probably going to be my favourite game.”

 

* * *

  
  


Francis managed to work out that Wade’s new healing factor was pretty impressive. They knew he could withstand stab wounds, burns (fire and chemical), and other such fun things as broken bones, which had Wade screaming every curse word he had ever come across, he even made up some new ones that he locked away for later use.

He also locked away some other useful information, such as the shelf of chemicals lining the opposite wall of the room and how close they were to the oxygen chamber he had been kept in. He took note of which ones were in ‘sure seal’ bottles. Those babies were the ones he wanted.

Wade tried to keep his mind on his plan and the plan alone. Any time he faltered or thought about his situation, his body… Peter, his brain would start to shut down as if he was slowly opening a door to a whole mess of stuff and if he opened it too wide, he wouldn’t be able to handle what tumbled through.

Angel was at Wade’s arm, administering what looked to be some sort of anesthetic.

“He’s gonna need a large dose.” Francis commented next to her as she measured the amount needed. “Don’t want him trying anything funny when we move him.”

“Ooooh! Where we goin’? Road trip I hope!” Wade crowed obnoxiously.

Francis stared back down at Wade with tense shoulders as if he was physically trying to hold himself back from doing something. “Actually. it’s something more a long the lines of cutting things off and seeing what grows back.”

Wade stilled, but tried not to show any outward reaction to what was said.

“We’re moving you because I don’t want to bloody up this room, it’s suppose to be a sterile room but I got ahead of myself.” Francis continued as Angel placed the needle in Wade’s arm. “But I have been...reprimanded, so it’s time to move you elsewhere.”

Wade tried to picture one of the cowardly little scientists in the facility having the balls to tell Francis what to do as Angel let the anesthetic sink into Wade’s system, instantly causing him to feel light headed. It almost felt as if someone had stuffed cotton balls through his ears into his brain.

Yup. They were using the good stuff.

Wade blacked out in a matter of seconds, only to find himself coming to what felt like hours later, but in reality, it looked as if they had only just unstrapped him from the chair he was on. It seemed as though the scientists had greatly underestimated his new found power.

He tried to keep his breathing even and his eyes closed as they moved him, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he was already awake. He allowed his head to lull downwards as they lifted him so that they could not see his face as he peeked one eye open slightly.   
He waited patiently as the goons dragged him a little further, he needed to get as close to the oxygen chamber as possible.

When he was just about next to it, he made his move. He elbowed the goon to his right in the stomach and spun around to lay a swift punch to the face of the goon to his left and pulling violently away from their grasp. There was a general commotion around him as the few scientists in the room scattered to the opposite wall by the door and hit the emergency button.

The room was instantly engulfed in a loud, shrill siren that only served to piss Wade off as he launched himself past the oxygen chamber, ripping the tubes from the back of the machine and continuing towards the shelf of chemicals on the wall.

Wade heard multiple shouts and cursing as he quickly studied the shelf.

“Wilson!?” Francis growled from the door where the alarm had been set off. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Wade didn’t reply, he didn’t even look back. Not even when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his thigh, causing him to cry out and stumble forward into the shelf.

“Not in the legs you idiots! Aim for something a little more vital!” He heard Francis shouting over the rushing in his own ears.

He gave the shelf another once over before grabbing one at random. “Fuck it.” He muttered, ripping the top off of the bottle and gritting his teeth as some of whatever it was splashed out and landed on his skin, burning intensely.

He felt another searing pain rip through his side as a bullet hit flesh just under his ribs. Somewhere in the back of his mind he acknowledged how the bullet had gone straight through and he felt a small pang of relief at the fact that that was one less he’d have to dig out later.

He grasped the chemical tightly in his hand, already noticing some sort of reaction occurring. He thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t grab one that would have reacted instantly. Scanning his eyes quickly over the shelf he eyed a long silver gas lighter on the very bottom left hand corner. It was obviously made to look inconspicuous in the room, probably so that psychos like Wade didn’t get their hands on it. Wade’s lip twitched at yet more example of his absolute dumb luck and picked up the lighter.

Technically he only needed either the fire or the chemical, but Wade was fucking angry, and it was time to make that known, so he decided the bigger the better.

He huffed as he ripped a piece of fabric from his shirt, stuffing it quickly inside the bottle and turning around steadily and lifted his face to glare at the man that had been inching his way closer during the scuffle, positioning himself just close enough to the oxygen chamber to make Wade smile.

Francis stopped dead as he noticed the look on Wade’s face, the moment seeming to slow down. He dragged his eyes over the objects in the scarred man's hands and back to the hissing oxygen tank next to him, his eyes widening as everything began to click into place.

“Told you I’d kill you.” Wade commented vindictively, lighting the piece of fabric and launching the bottle at the oxygen source on the chamber.

Turns out, Wade really didn’t need more than one bottle.

He had the pleasure of savouring the horrified look on Francis’ face as the room was engulfed in a bright light. Wade didn’t even hear the explosion, the only thing he noticed was the immense, searing pain as his skin burned and he was sent flying back into the shelf, the rest of the chemicals hitting the floor around him with loud thuds, but there was no further explosion near him which lead him to assume they were still sealed.

He moved his legs to curl in on himself as his skin burned and bubbled, a harsh cry ripping from his throat. His healing factor started to kick in immediately though, fixing his apparently destroyed ear drums and allowing the screams and roaring of the fire in the room seep into him.

He hugged his knees to his chest tightly, not wanting to move. As much as he’d done what needed to be done, he just knew that what he’d see when he eventually got up was not going to be pretty.

He felt tears sting his eyes as the pain in his body didn’t seem to go away, it didn’t feel as if he was healing. He was burning again, just like he’d been in the chamber the day before. His breath started to come in ragged gasps as he tried to calm himself.

“You’re fine. You’re fine.” He whispered to himself, wincing at how deranged his voice sounded.

He lay there a bit longer until some of the screams around him started to simmer down into low groans and whimpers before slowly moving his body. He whined as his skin felt like it was being stretched along his body, feeling too tight as if it were going to rip if he moved too quickly. So he moved slowly, gently, making sure he didn’t strain himself too much.

Eventually Wade managed to force his sore body up and started making his way slowly through the heat engulfed room. He passed dozens of unmoving bodies of scientists, one even looked like a patient.   
One part of his brain telling him that he needed to see if any of them were even still alive, the other, more stubborn part didn’t care much, it only cared for one person, and he just hoped that he was still being kept in the facility.

When he saw Francis lying limp and bloodied on the ground, he didn’t feel anything, just a deep satisfaction that moved him further forward.

His knees ached and it felt like every muscle in his body was raw, the pain crawling through his muscles into his skin and searing him like fire, even though the actual fire was far away from him on all sides.

The explosion that had been created from the chamber looked like it had even caused some of the building to collapse, and it looked like more of it was starting to crack and rumble, which caused Wade to walk faster despite the protesting from his body.

He didn’t dare look himself in the reflections of glass scattered all around him, he didn’t even dare look down at himself. He wouldn’t be able to get Peter out if he broke down now. He was running on rage and it was going to get him where he needed to be.

He walked down the long hallways of the facility opening every single door and scouring every room as quickly as he could, even having to break down some of the doors. He found a few people strapped to tables that he forced himself to spare some time to free. Some of the people though, looked like they had been there for days, bodies already cold in the equipment used on them.

The sight would have made Wade sick on any other day, but right now he was numb, he was on a mission and none of what was going on around him was breaking through the mental block that had been created in that chamber.

He carried on scouring room after room, the building moaning and some brick and cement falling not far behind him. He needed to hurry. The fire was also getting closer.

“Peter!” Wade yelled out down the dimly lit hallway, hissing as the words scratched against his already sore throat.

Wade tried to listen for a reply over the roaring of the fire and the cracking of the walls but didn’t hear anything.

“Peter!” Wade yelled again, this time he’d started running. Something in the back of his mind kept nagging at him, as if he was too late. What if they had already moved Peter out of the facility? Francis had said that the boy had mutated and that was a few days ago, they could have already shipped him off to another secret facility halfway across the world.

“Peter!”

Wade felt tears sting his eyes as he grit his teeth against the smoke starting to fill the hallway. Even if Peter was there, he still needed to get to him in time before the smoke suffocated them both.

“Fuck.” He choked out desperately. “Pete-.”

“Wade?”

The reply was soft and distorted through all the noise, but it was enough.  
Wade let out a small noise of relief as he rushed to the far end of the hallway to where the voice had come from. The door was a little more reinforced than the others, but it looked like it had been left open in the scientists haste to retreat.

The assholes obviously didn’t even give two shits about leaving Peter.

Wade pushed the heavy door open, cringing at the way it moaned the whole way. The lights in the room had been cut out due to the power failure that followed the explosion, the only light in the room was the dull orange from the fire seeping through the thick smoke down the hallway and a few dim emergency lights.

Wade stepped carefully into the room as his eyes started to adjust, he didn’t want to accidently bump into Peter if the boy was hurt. He roamed his eyes around the room, taking in the two way glass to his immediate right and the array of tools lined up against the wall just opposite the door he had entered.

As he dragged his eyes across the room, he caught sight of what looked like a chair similar to the one he had been strapped in to.  
The chair was faced towards the two way glass, a familiar face reflecting in it, wrists and legs strapped and something seeming to strapped to his head.

“Wade?” Peter called softly from the chair, his voice was no more than a cracked whisper which sent Wade tumbling to the boys front, landing on his knees and immediately working on the cuffs on his wrists.

“Why the fuck are they keeping you cuffed baby boy?” Wade asked desperately as he pulled against them.

“Wade… what…?” Peter sounded like he was struggling to breathe a little as he questioned what Wade assumed was his grotesque appearance.

Wade slowly and reluctantly turned his gaze up to the boy and sucked in a breath as he took in the contraption on his head. It was a lot more complex than he had first expected, going all the way around Peter’s head in a thick band of metal and branching down to his temples, with what looked like electrodes.

“Shit Petey, what did they do to you?”

Peter huffed slightly and smirked. “Me?”

Wade bristled at the boys nonchalance and joking tone at Wade's appearance, but his anger ebbed as he watched Peter’s face fall again and sadness and pity over took the look from before.

“What happened Wade?” Peter asked softly

Wade continued to yank and pull at the restraints, his face set in a solid frown that could luckily be mistaken for concentration.

“I guess I wasn’t lucky enough to get the Superman styled mutation I was hoping for.”

Peter’s eyes widened at the comment. “Your mutation did this?” Peter’s brow scrunched in what Wade took for confusion.

“What?”

Peter tried to shake his head but the machine over his forehead limited his movements. “It’s just I- the mutation seems very dramatic.”

Wade glared up at the younger man. “Okay?”

It’s not as if the kids life was in his hands here or anything, but sure let’s mock the freak with the “dramatic” skin condition!

Peter breathed in deeply through his nose as if trying to calm himself before he spoke. “I’m not saying it like that Wade. It’s just… they aren’t usually this intense.”

Wade huffed and looked away, his eyes darted around him to see if there was a switch or a key or something that would unlock the cuffs so that he wouldn’t have to look into Peter’s pitying eyes anymore.

He was doing that cryptic ‘I was somehow involved in all of this before’ thing again and it really wasn’t gonna help Wade’s mood.

“Why the hell would they need to strap you down like this? What is all of this?” He started running his fingers over the chair in an effort to find a switch or button that maybe opened the restraints.

“I have heightened strength now.” Peter breathed out, his eyes were starting to droo, exhaustion over taking him but a smirk played on his lips nonetheless. “I kicked their asses.”

Wade mentally high fived himself as his fingers pressed into a small button just under a groove in the chair and the latches came undone.

“I would have loved to see that Pete.” Wade said distractedly as he pulled the younger man’s legs and hands away from the cuffs.

“Next time.” Peter replied softer now, his eyes slipping with the effort to keep them open.

Wade didn’t say it out loud but he sincerely hoped there wasn’t going to be a next time where he would have to see that.

He hovered by Peter’s head, looking the contraption over. “Uhm…”

“A latch. at the back.” Peter mumbled, waving his hand airily towards the back of his head.

Wade followed the instructions and brought his hands to the device and unlatched it, trying to figure out why they were still giving Peter electric shocks if he had already mutated.

“Conditioning, brainwashing, whatever they call it.” Peter interrupted Wade’s thoughts. He wasn’t even trying to keep his eyes open anymore. “The last step to a perfect weapon.”

Wade took in Peter’s words and turned a raged filled glare at the device in his hands. A small part of him wondered how far they had gotten in their attempts. Peter luckily hadn’t been there too long and Wade had heard that conditioning took time.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Wade growled, throwing the piece of metal to the floor and walking back to Peter’s front. He placed a hand on Peter’s elbow and attempted to help him up, only to have Peter’s legs wobble and fall out from underneath him.

“Pete!” Wade scrambled to catch the boy before he hit concrete, completely sweeping him up into a bridal styl hold and running his eyes over the boy worriedly.

“My hero.” Peter breathed out sarcastically, a small smile on his lips before his eyes closed again and his face fell slack as he finally lost consciousness.

Wade ripped a piece of material from the leg of Peter’s hospital pants, not being able to bend to get to his own, and used the material to cover the younger man’s mouth as he stared at the smoke filled hallway before them.

“Let’s get you out of here Baby Boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated this from my phone... once again because self control isn't a thing in my life. 
> 
> This is still part of the chapter I felt icky about lol, so hopefully I get my stride back with the next chapters :).   
> I'm also bad with updating tags, so please if there is anything you feel I need to add please let me know xxx 
> 
> Thanks guys (^_^)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaaaaaaay I'm updating on schedule! Whoop whoop!

 BOXES -  _White &  _ **Yellow**

 

* * *

 

 

Wade felt like he was going to be sick as he stared down at Peter’s broken body. It seemed as though the goons had put up as much fight as Peter had when he had come into his mutation, and it had resulted them injuring a fair number of things. Wade found himself struggling to handle the situation. Not only Peter, but what had been done to himself.

 

He placed Peter down gently on the sofa, trying not to jostle the boy too much. As far as he could see –which was pretty much everything considering Peter was only wearing hospital pants- Peter was bruised from head to toe.

It look like he had a few broken ribs, which were the only injuries that Wade could properly make out at that moment. He hadn’t noticed them before, but the more Peter had cried out and keened on the way out of the facility had alerted Wade to the situation. It had taken them longer to get back to Wade’s apartment after that because Wade was terrified of hurting Peter any more.

He knew that the younger man may have other symptoms from all the electric shocks they had put him through. Before he had gone quiet all those days ago, he had complained about the tips of his fingers and toes being numb… which wasn’t all that serious. What had worried Wade was when Peter had complained about irregular and erratic heartbeat when he was just lying still on the gurney.

Wade knew from some of his basic training that electric shock could cause an irregular heartbeat. He also knew that a person could go into cardiac arrest from said irregular heartbeat. What he _didn’t_ know was if even though he got Peter out of there, if it had just been too little too late.

What if the damage was done already? He knew there would be psychological issues, definitely memory impairment, even if Peter may not recognise that any time soon.

What if...after everything this boy had been through, he would just suddenly go into cardiac arrest and simply drop dead because of all the shock treatment administered and not even from the mutation itself.

That was another thing… Wade had no idea what mutation they had gotten out of Peter besides elevated strength. He had a simple grasp of his own so far. Radical healing and chewed bubble gum skin.

**You’re giving yourself way too much credit. You’re much uglier than that.**

Wade gasped at the comment and whirled around with wide, scared eyes as he scanned the empty room. His first thought was that they had been found. Someone had followed them.

But no one was there. He was only greeted by the dank, cold surface area of the small, rundown apartment.

He was going insane. He needed to hold it together at least for just a little while longer until Peter woke up. He owed the boy that much.

 

_And why do we owe him anything again?_

 

**He provided us with much needed spank material for next few years THAT’S WHY.**

 

Wade cried out and stuffed his hand down the back of the sofa where he knew he’d stashed a gun or two a few months before he’d been in the facility.

He spun around, gun in hand and opened fire on the empty room.

“Who the fuck is there?” He screamed, stopping only to retrieve the second bullet cartridge from under the sofa.

 

_Nice try buddy. Maybe try pointing that gun somewhere useful. Like your temple._

 

The voice was snide and it made Wade’s skin crawl at the insinuation.

“Who-.”

That’s when he heard a groan behind him, followed by sharp gasp.

He turned back around to find Peter sitting with his head in between his knees, his hand clutching his side.

“…Peter?” Wade asked cautiously, moving toward the younger man slowly.

 

**Nice goin’ jackass. You managed to wake a fuckin’ comatose with your loud ass.**

 

Wade snarled at the voice and continued to search the room. Had Ajax planted something in him? To make him think he was hearing things? To drive him crazy.

 

_As if he needed to go to those kind of levels._

 

“Wade?”

Wade’s eyes snapped back to the boy on the couch. He was losing it before he could help Peter.

Peter’s eyes were hooded and he had dark circles under them. He dragged them cautiously over Wades body. It was then that the older man remembered what he looked like and immediately started to make himself smaller, to by some miracle not have Peter see him that way.

"Wade… I’m-.” Peter choked back a sob and shook his head, tears falling from his face before he could wipe them away. “I’m so sorry.”

The look on Peter’s face made him feel sick.

Was it that bad? Was he really so horrible that he could be possible of making Peter look so remorseful.

 

**Yup.**

 

_Pretty much._

 

“It’s not your fault Peter.” Wade whispered to the floor as he hung his head in an attempt to hide himself.

“You can’t possibly believe that!” Peter snapped back through tears.

Wade just shrugged and picked idly at the scabbed skin on the back of his hand.

“It’s not like you ever told me enough to blame you anyway.”

Peter stilled and stared at the other man before him. Wade looked absolutely wrecked. And it was worse because… It _was_ partly Peter’s fault, or that’s how he felt anyway.

“Wade I-.”

Wade lifted a hand to cut the boy off abruptly. “I don’t want to know Peter.”

“But Wade, you can’t just-.”

“No. What I can’t do is listen to this right now.” Wade’s voice had gone hoarse in that moment and Peter had to wonder if he would see tears if he could see the man’s face.

“I can’t hear any admissions, or any apologies right now. I won’t handle it very well Petey believe me.”

Wade took a deep breath in through his nose and raised his head to stare resolutely back at the younger man. They were not going to do this right now. It was not the time. Neither of them needed any more stress. What they needed was rest.

“We’ll get back to the topic… eventually. But for right now, all we need to do is acknowledge that we escaped. We got out, it’s over.”

Peter averted his eyes, not being able to be so confident in staring back at Wade.

“You know that’s not true.” He whispered and then gasped out as he tried to scratch the side of his face but only came into contact with burnt skin from where the electrodes had been attached.

“It is for now.” Wade grit out as he watched Peter shift uncomfortably.  “I’m going to get a first aid kit.”

Wade strut out of the room, trying to keep his breathing under control. He walked into the bathroom and turned the light on, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the sink. And then he couldn’t drag his eyes away.

He hadn’t ever blamed Peter for anything that had happened in the facility. Not since the first time they had spoken and Peter had sort of admitted to having a part in all of it.

Wade had accepted that the boy felt guilty about what he had done and was paying his dues by being part of the experiments himself.

But at that moment… as Wade stared at the scarred, disfigured face in front of him, he felt anger boil in his veins and the only two people he really knew to blame were Ajax and the boy curled up in pain on his sofa.

Ajax had either died in that fire or he’d escaped and was just probably going to start it all over from scratch.

Wade realized at that moment that he hadn't actually checked Francis’ pulse… what if he had actually survived?

 

_I say we throw that kid out on his ass. We don’t need him anymore._

 

Wade wasn’t as jumpy this time around when he heard the voice. He slowly moved his eyes away from the mirror and glanced around the room, knowing he wasn’t actually going to find anyone.

 

**NO! Are you INSANE!? You don’t throw a face like that on the streets all willy nilly!**

 

_Willy Nilly?_

 

**Dunno. Seemed right.**

 

“Who are you?” Wade asked, turning back around to address the mirror, fully aware of the answer he’d receive.

 

_You._

 

**Yeeeeaaaaah but also not really  you… ya dig?**

 

_Please shut up._

 

“Could the _both_ of you please shut up?” Wade growled, slowly rubbing his temples.

 

**Unlikely.**

 

Ofcourse something like this would happen he thought acidly. You don’t have Wade Wilson’s luck unless you not only end up looking like the raw side of a beef burger, but also go absolutely fucking batshit crazy in the process too.

He was going to have to take a screwdriver to his head to see if he could somehow shut the voices up.

 

**Ooooooo, Old school psychology! Do it!**

 

_Doubt “Baby Boy” would be too happy about that._

 

Wade jerked at the mention of Peter. He was supposed to be getting the first aid kit. Who knew how much shit the kids body was going through right now. He instantly started to feel bad about getting angry at the boy. He had said they wouldn’t think of the details right now. That they would focus on getting better.

He just… didn’t know how possible that actually was. Technically speaking for himself, he was fine. He could feel his skin crawling constantly and it burned in a lot of places, but he knew he was fine physically. As in, none of it was fatal. That’s what Francis had said anyway wasn’t it? That Wade had developed the best healing factor he’d ever seen.

Peter on the other hand, well who the hell knew at this point. All he knew for sure was that neither of them were coming out of this with full minds. He already knew that from the Gremlins bouncing around inside his own head.

 

**Rude.**

 

He needed to somehow put his own mind at ease and the only way to do that was to promise himself that he’d find the people that were in charge of the facility and deal with them permanently. Something inside him knew that Francis hadn’t died in that fire and that Wade was one of only two people that knew about what had happened in that place, and he doubted Peter would claim revenge for all those that died.

But Wade would. And he would fucking enjoy it.

 

* * *

 

 

Peter had known as soon as he’d seen Wade crash through the door into his cell that they were both never going to be the same again.

For one, Wade was… well they had mutilated him. Peter didn’t know all the details of exactly what they had done but Wade had said that it was a result of his mutation.

And the other, Wade had been speaking to himself since they got back to the apartment, and not casually muttering to himself the way Peter did. No, he was actually replying and even having arguments with someone that wasn’t there.

Peter had heard some of the muttering when Wade had gone to fetch the first aid kit and it just hadn’t stopped.

The younger man was starting to wonder if Wade was having a mental break down. Peter really wanted to help but at the same time he was too chicken to even ask Wade what was going on beyond “You sure you’re okay?”

What kind of stupid ass question would that be to begin with? Of course Wade wasn’t okay! Neither of them was okay and they weren’t going to be!

Peter screwed his eyes shut as his brain repeatedly told him how he probably wasn’t going to be able to do any of the things he had wanted to do with his life.

Didn’t people that came out of these situations have serious mental impairments? Did he even remember half of the stuff he had learnt from his dad? all the extra science and biology classes?

Peter attempted a scan of his own brain in order to figure out if the routine electric shocks had dissolved any of his long term memory, but it all seemed to still be there…

So he was going to be fine then? He could get through all of it and still attempt to carry on his life the way he had been before. Except well, he couldn’t really do that, could he?

Every time Peter attempted to think about where he was gonna end up a few days from then, a few weeks, years, his brain kept going back to Wade and how the other man fit into those plans.

He tried desperately to push any kind of thoughts that linked Wade to his future away. He couldn’t deal with those sorts of thoughts right now, he needed to focus on realistic situations, solutions, a game plan, one that, if he were smart, would not involve the other man.

Wade...Wade wasn’t going to be thinking about Peter anyway right? He was going to go home to Vanessa. He had spoken about her a few times in the beginning, but as Peter thought about the mystery woman Wade had mentioned, he realised that the other man had not really mentioned her for the past few months.  

Peter scrunched up his nose at the impending headache that was starting to settle behind his eyes. They had started happening after his second round of “shock therapy” and they hadn’t really gone away since.

The dull ache in his skull made his eyes tired and fuzzy, his body was finally realising that it couldn’t keep up with his brains panic mode anymore.

He sighed softly, the sound almost sounding relieved as he watched Wade walk back into the room silently.

The older man knelt next to the couch wordlessly and dumped all the medical supplies he had been carrying in his arms in a heap on the floor next to him.

“Alright Baby Boy, Let’s take a look.”

Peter had subconsciously folded his arms around himself while Wade had been in the bathroom. He was noticing things a lot slower than usual, so it took him a few moments to realise that he was sitting without a shirt on and that he was pretty cold.

Wade slowly took hold of Peter’s wrists and moved his hands away. Peter noticed how Wade had put on a hoodie in the time he had been getting the first aid kit. The hood was drawn up over his head, casting his face in shadow.

“You don’t have to wear that.” Peter mumbled, eyes following Wade hands as his own were moved away.

Wade didn’t reply, he didn’t even look at Peter when the boy spoke, he just gently moved his fingers to Peter’s sides where the bruises were and pressed lightly.

Peter hissed and made to grab Wade’s wrist to stop the pressure but Wade caught the younger man’s wrist first and looked up at him with a challenging glare.

Peter swallowed thickly at the look on the other man’s face and dropped his hand slowly, a small pout playing on his face.

Wade seemed to have noticed the pout because despite the look Peter was getting, he still thought he saw the man’s lip twitch up slightly.

“I think your ribs are more broken than just bruised, and you've got minor burns on your temples, I think I have some cream for that.” Wade stated casually as he got up and moved to the kitchen. 

“Does it hurt when you breathe?” Wade called from the fridge as he grabbed an ice pack for Peter's ribs and made his way back to his spot beside the other man.

Peter’s brow scrunched in confusion at the question and then he took a deep breath in and cringed as pain burst through him, forcing him to scrunch his eyes closed in an attempt to work through the pain.

“That's what I thought.” Wade commented casually, kneeling back down and placing the ice pack gently on Peter’s side, causing the other man to jump.

Wade stopped and looked up with concern. “Sorry.” He mumbled

“S’just really cold.” Peter mumbled back sheepishly, not looking at Wade.

They stayed silent a while after that as Wade put what looked Aloe vera on the burns on Peter's face. 

Peter noticed Wade mumbling to himself again, but the growing headache behind his eyes prevented him from being able to catch any of what the other man was saying.

“The best thing to do is rest.” Wade finally said. “There's not much else you can do with broken ribs.”

Peter just nodded his head slowly, eyes half lidded as he looked Wade over. He felt so guilty. He felt so guilty that even though he wasn't in great shape right now, he would eventually get better.

He didn't know if Wade was going to get better, and made him mourn the other man’s chances of living a normal life again.

“No, no, no.” Wade said a little too loudly in the quiet apartment.

He had moved his hand to Peter’s cheek and tapped him lightly trying to get the younger man's attention. “You're not falling asleep on this piece of shit sofa Baby boy. Let's get you to the bed okay?”

Peter moaned his resistance as Wade started to move him. He just wanted to sleep, right where he was. Why did Wade have to be so _pushy_!

“Okay, stop that you big baby.” Wade chuckled as he eventually got an arm under Peter and lifted. “I'll even carry you like the damsel in distress you are okay?”

Peter frowned at the comment. “M’not a damsel.”

Wade huffed and began walking to the room with Peter in his arms. “Yeah, who saved who today?”

Peter didn’t answer that. He knew who had saved who. Even while he was in the facility he wasn’t really sure he would have survived without Wade there. Peter’s gut twisted as he realised that maybe he really was the damsel in distress.

Peter glanced around the dark room as they walked through towards the bed. It wasn’t very big and it smelt a little funny, but then again, the two of them weren’t any better in the odor department at that moment so he decided to keep his opinion to himself.

Wade placed Peter gently on the edge of the bed, before moving to the top to draw the covers down for the younger man to get in.

Peter smirked at the action. “Thanks mom.”

Wade glared back at the younger man, but there was no venom behind look. “Yeah, yeah get in princess.”

Peter chuckled and shook his head, crawling slowly to where Wade was holding the blankets open. He stopped just before climbing in as an earlier thought came back to mind.

“Umm… I don’t really smell all that great.” Peter admitted, a blush creeping up his neck. “The bed is gonna smell like sweat and smoke.”

Wade frowned down at the bed and then turned a crooked smirk towards Peter. “Soooo exactly the same as it would be if you didn’t sleep in it? It’s fine Petey, general cleanliness is tomorrow's problem.”

Peter didn’t even try to argue with Wade, honestly he was hoping for that type of answer so he could just go to sleep. He crawled under the cover’s and sighed as he sank into the surprisingly soft mattress. somehow he had expected more of “springy” kind of feel from Wade’s mattress.

He even managed to swallow his pride and allow Wade to drag the covers over him gently.

“Good?” Wade asked softly as he made to fluff Peter’s pillow, being careful not to jostle Peter too much and hurt his already painful sides.

Peter stared up at the other man with soft eyes. This man that was obviously in such pain, but was going out of his way to tuck Peter into bed.

“Good.”  Peter agreed quietly.

Wade seemed a bit uncomfortable by the way Peter was looking at him and begin to shift his weight around anxiously, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well… anyway, good night then.” Wade mumbled awkwardly, turning to leave.

Peter shot the other man a surprised look. “Where are you going?”

Wade looked around the room as if not really knowing the answer himself.

“Ah… sleep?”

 

“Where?” Peter asked with a deep frown. “On the sofa you claimed was unfit for _me_ to sleep on?”

“Well…”

“Wade.” Peter said pointedly, setting a calm but “no nonsense” look on the other man.

“This is your apartment, this is _your_ bed, you can sleep here too. There’s more than enough room.”

It wasn’t as if the two had had much in the way of comfortable space for the past few weeks anyway… or was it months? Peter hadn’t even cared to check the date.

Wade’s eyes darted between the other side of the bed and Peter. He seemed to be struggling with the decision and Peter was hoping that the other man’s overactive brain would not force him to ruin his first night of freedom by making him sleep on the sofa… on his own.

Peter sighed and lifted his hand to take Wade’s gently in his own.

The gesture caused the other man to go very still. His eyes had shifted to where Peter was touching him, It didn’t even seem as though he was breathing.

“Wade I-.” Peter cut himself off, trying to look for the right words to explain himself. “I don’t want to sleep alone… I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep if you’re not here.”

He realised how true that might be as soon as he said it. He hadn’t really fallen asleep in a long while without Wade being next to him, even if they weren’t sharing the same bed, it had still been comforting, he had felt safe with Wade around.

Peter continued to look at Wade imploringly, trying to put as much emotion into the look as he possibly could without having to say more. He had never been great with expressing himself to others, it was something a lot of his friends and family had had issue with and he could feel the blush burning his neck and cheeks as he waited for Wade's reply.

Wade’s shoulders slumped as he seemed to relax again, his fingers brushing gently over Peter’s.

“Alright Baby boy.” Wade relented with a sigh, squeezing Peter’s hand tight before letting go.

Peter couldn’t help the wide smile he gave the other man as Wade moved around to the other side of the bed. He started getting excited thinking that the both of them may actually get to have a semi decent sleep in what felt like forever.

Wade removed his shoes before pulling down the covers and sliding in. Peter noted how the older man had left everything else on though.

Peter carried on smiling though, as long as the other man was in a proper bed, it was fine for now.

“Your face is going to crack you keep smiling like an idiot.” Wade mumbled, eyes closed.

Peter chuckled. “Sorry.”

They lay in silence for a while after that. Peter wasn’t sure if Wade was sleeping but he somehow doubted it. After everything that had happened, he was actually pretty impressed that the both of them were acting kind of normal.

He was still trying to track his memories, his knowledge, he kept thinking that there were things missing, things he should know but he couldn’t put his finger on what. It was like they had taken just enough for him to feel something missing but not enough for him to feel it was something too significant. Just enough to know they had taken _something._

He could feel his body tensing as he remembered them. The faces of all the people that had hurt him. He hated every single one of them so much in that moment that it made the headache behind his eyes grow even more pronounced.

He moved his head to the opposite side of the pillow, closest to Wade to find the cold spot on the pillow that always felt like heaven, especially when he had a headache before bed.

He sighed as his cheek found the cold of the pillow and snuggled deep into it, feeling some sense of calm as his mind drifted.

 

Peter hadn’t actually realised he’d fallen asleep until he felt a pressure on his arm, someone shaking him awake.

“Pete?” Wade whispered next to him

Peter groaned at having been woken up, but something in Wade’s voice had him on high alert almost as soon as he’d opened his eyes.

Wade was leaning over him, gripping his upper arm and staring down at the younger man intently. Peter couldn’t see his face in the dark though, even if the hood was down. It seemed as if Wade had maybe forgotten about it.

“Wade? What’s wrong?”

Wade continued to stare down at Peter the hand on his arm unmoving. The longer Peter had his eyes open, the more they started to adjust so that he could just make out the almost pained look on Wade’s face.

“Wade?” Peter asked again, bringing his other hand around to lay on the one Wade had on his arm. “Talk to me.”

Wade diverted his gaze down yo the bed spread and shook his head. “I- I know it’s not real. I know _they_ aren’t real. I know that. Just my mind makin’ shit up.”

Peter frowned at the other man, but he didn’t interrupt.

“It just… Pete, I’m gonna get closer here. Do you mind? I can’t- I need to feel something, someone real. Please.”

Peter very nearly crushed the other man in a death grip styled hug when he heard Wade’s voice crack on the last word. He managed to restrain himself however when he realised that Wade may not react too kindly to sudden movements at that moment.

Peter silently moved his arm out of Wade’s grip and brought it down lightly, just behind Wade’s shoulder. He nodded up at the other man and lead him to lie down with the hand on his back.

Wade followed the motion, bringing his body down flush next to Peter’s and his head down on the boy’s chest. He was obviously trying very hard not to accidentally bump the younger man’s ribs, but still felt the need for a little bit more contact as he brought his arm over to lay as gently as possible on Peter’s stomach.

When Wade had eventually settled and Peter heard a deep sigh come from the older man, he brought his hand up to the back of Wade’s head and ran his thumb soothingly over the irritated skin.

Wade tensed at the contact at first, but eventually he leaned into the touch and it made Peter feel a sense of relief that he was able to provide Wade comfort that way.

“What’s goin’ on up there?” Peter asked, tapping his index finger lightly on Wade’s temple for reference.

“Don’t worry bout’ it Pete.” Wade huffed against Peter’s chest, closing his eyes.

“But I will.” Peter replied honestly. There was no way he wasn’t going to worry if the other man was okay or not. Maybe if they knew what it was exactly, maybe they could find someone who could help. There were like super Psychologist’s out there right? The really hectic cases had to go somewhere... right?

“I’m… hearing things.” Wade said softly, drawing Peter’s attention out of his own thoughts.

“Voices. So far it seems as if it’s just the two. They’re… not very nice. But it’s not just voices, I’m seeing things too, like shadows… kind of.” Wade seemed to stop in order to figure out a way to explain properly, Peter kept quiet.

“When I opened my eyes, I saw them moving on the ceiling, I thought my eyes were just playing tricks on me in the dark, so I waited it out to see if my eyes would adjust, but the shadows just kept getting bigger, then it seemed as if they were coming lower, coming towards me.”

Peter stared up at the ceiling, he didn’t see anything. Not that he expected he would, but some small part of him wished he did, if only to offer Wade some sort of comfort.

“I know it’s not there.” Wade repeated. “I know that.”

Peter’s felt his heart sink at hearing Wade sound so fragile. So vulnerable. It was something so completely different from when they had first met that Peter could almost say it was two different people.

“They’re not.” Peter agreed, hugging the other man closer. 

Wade seemed to snuggle in closer then, a long sigh escaping his lips before his breath started to even out.

Peter stayed awake long after Wade had fallen asleep. His rampant mind wouldn’t allow him to sleep. He also wanted to make sure Wade was fine, that the other man got enough rest. He’d done so much for Peter, the least he could was watch over him while he slept.

“We’ll figure this out.” Peter whispered as he stared down at Wade’s face, scrunched up as though he were concentrating.

“We’ll be fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU GUYS!! I felt so spoiled with comments and Kudos over this last week! You're all so awesome (^_^) *hugs*
> 
> Soooot this chapter was originally half the size it is now. And then my brain decided that was stupid and a whole lot more just poured out!
> 
> I also posted this without really going over everything, mostly cause I'm pretty tired right now, so I'll check for any mistakes later on. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE DEVIL'S CHAPTER! 
> 
> Nothing bad happens...kinda...it just came out of nowhere!?! Which is exactly why I'm two days late in posting because just before I was gonna post the real chapter 7 my brain decided "nah, needs something" and whoops, whole new chapter before the chapter that was supposed to go up! Dammit brain! I hope it's okay though, I wasn't entirely happy with the first bit but was too impatient and posted anyway.

 

Peter was woken the next morning by shrill sounds hitting his ears, horrible screeches and loud rustling noises scratching harshly against his earrdums. He gasped, sitting up in bed and clutching his hands desperately to his ears to keep the noises out.

His quick movements not only woke Wade but they also sent a sharp burning pain through his side where his ribs were screaming in protest. He noticed out of the corner of his eye how the other man was frowning up at him.

The sounds were too loud, they were disorientating and had Peter clenching his teeth hard as if he could somehow push them away.

Peter groaned as the sounds moved in waves through his still aching head. It seemed as though he had woken up with the headache he had gone to sleep with. Terrific. That and the horrific noises, it was gonna turn out to be a great day.

Peter felt Wade's hands on his arms, clutching him hard as if to ground him, to somehow bring him back to reality. Peter shook his head, trying to speak, to tell Wade he didn’t know what was wrong, he couldn’t concentrate!

Wade was speaking then, the words a muffled mumbling that didn’t make any sense amongst the rest of the noises. Wade starting speaking louder all of a sudden, the sound piercing through Peter and making him cringe.

“No!” He managed to gasp out, grabbing Wade’s wrist and staring up at the other man desperately. “S’too loud.”

Wade’s eyes widened as he searched Peter’s pained face and then moved his eye’s down to Peter’s hand gripping his wrist. He seemed as if he was about to say something before he clicked his mouth closed again and glanced around the room.

The older man stumbled off the bed quickly and started moving quickly around the room, tossing Peter’s stuff everywhere as if looking for something. Peter would have complained had he not been in some sort of noisy hell. The noises were blending together into one large jumbled mess, some of it actually sounded like words, voices.

Peter couldn’t make out what the words were though, even if they were voices, they didn’t make sense. Maybe this was what Wade had been hearing? If it was, Peter instantly felt tons of sympathy for the other man as the sounds starting bleeding in and out of each other and into a string of high pitched ringing.

Peter lifted his legs towards his stomach completely ignoring the pain in his ribs and buried his head between his knees, tears silently falling down his face as he screwed his eyes shut, his skin suddenly starting to feel too sensitive and his face too hot.

He absently noticed the bed dipping next to him but he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes as the pain laced behind them. He felt a light tap on his arm but tried to ignore it, rocking back and forth in his spot on the bed.

The tapping on his arm continued, eventually turning into a shaking gesture which made him realise then that it was probably Wade. Peter tried to stave off his irritation at the other man, reminding himself that he wasn’t annoyed at Wade but at the pain in his head and ears.

He slowly lifted his face, nose scrunching as he opened his eyes. They felt incredibly heavy, as if he hadn’t slept at all the previous night. Not that he even knew if he had, it had seemed as if he had merely closed his eyes and then woken up two seconds later to the too bright morning.  

Wade smiled softly when Peter eventually gave him eye contact, his eyes were gentle and he had a hand rubbing up and down the side of Peter’s arm comfortingly. Wade then lifted his hand to wave it directly in front of Peter’s face, something small and white was held between Wade’s thumb and index finger.

Wade raised his eyebrows questioningly and shoved whatever it was under Peter’s nose so that the younger man could see it better. Peter glanced down with a frown at Wade's fingers. It was a small ball of sticky tack.

Peter glanced back up at Wade with a confused expression on his face. What the hell did Wade want him to do with that? Peter tried to convey as much of his confusion on his face as possible to the other man, which caused Wade to snort and roll his eyes dramatically.

Wade still hadn’t said a word, to which Peter was grateful for, but he was making dramatic gestures, which including pointing at the sticky tack and then back at his ears. Peter’s brain took a while to click at the insinuation but when it did, he scowled at the older man and shook his head.

Wade seriously wanted him to stuff sticky tack in his ears? Peter shivered, at the thought of having such a texture go in his ears and continued to frown at Wade even as the noises continued to mull around him.

Wade scowled straight back and continued to gesture wildly between Peter, his ears and the sticky tack. It was almost as bad as when Wade wouldn’t stop talking! The movements were making Peter nauseous as he tried to keep up with them with his sore eyes and aching head.

Eventually he couldn’t take it anymore as Wade’s gestures had gone completely off course and didn’t seem to be making any sort of sense anymore. Peter reluctantly moved one hand away from his ear, flinching at the onslaught of noise and held it up in a “stop” gesture towards Wade.

Wade stopped gesturing immediately and stared challengingly at the younger man, as if waiting for him to decline again. Peter huffed and attempted to roll his eyes in return but that only managed to make him wince as his eyes complained at the movement.

He stuck his hand out towards the sticky tack indignantly, carefully avoiding Wade’s gaze, knowing the other man was probably looking smug as Peter relented. He watched Wade break the piece in two and put both pieces in Peter’s palm.

Peter hesitated for a few moments before sighing and bringing the sticky tack up to his ears and quickly shoving it inside, cutting off the noise. He could still hear some muffled sounds around him and the blood rushing through his own head, but besides that, it was much better.

Peter sighed gratefully and let his head loll back against the headboard, eyes closed as he continued to try to relax and adjust to the uncomfortable sticky stuff he’d just shoved in his ears.

The intense throbbing in his head had calmed down quite abit, but every other uncomfortable feeling still remained. His skin being too sensitive, his eyes sore and his throat way too dry as he tried to swallow and his ribs were just a constant throb. It felt very similar to when he had first started to mutate actually.

It was then that Peter started to piece everything together. He knew from past experiments he had conducted with his father that some mutations did take a lot longer to settle in than others. It could just be that Peter’s body was giving in to whatever the rest of his mutation was and he was only feeling the affects of that now.

He cursed at the idea of having to go through all of that pain again. It had been hard the first time around, his muscles had ached for days, they still did, but now it was coupled with other side affects that he didn’t even understand. He’d be an idiot if he said he wished he had those scientists around to tell him what was going on, but at the same time, no matter what they put him through, at least he still knew what was going on with him, he wouldn’t know for sure now.

He pushed down the impending worry that started to twist in his stomach, not wanting to overreact or freak out like he had a tendency to do. He opened his eyes and rolled them slowly up to see Wade sitting patiently in front of him with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hand.

The older man’s eyes widened a bit when he noticed Peter looking at him and he mouthed a silent “What the fuck?”

Although Peter was still pretty much in pain, the expression on Wade’s face made him chuckle despite himself. He shrugged and tried to make some sort of sound in acknowledgment but ended up flinching slightly as the attempt grated against his throat.

Wade frowned at the younger man’s actions and made a “drinking.” gesture with his hands and pointed at Peter questioningly. Just before Peter could answer, Wade had an excited look cross his face and he waved his hands in front of Peter before bringing them down to his stomach and rubbing them in circles, nodding excitedly.

Peter smiled at Wade’s shenanigans and blushed as his stomach growled out a loud answer for him. He couldn’t quite hear it, but he was sure it must have been loud if Wade’s answering laughter was anything to go by.

Wade rolled himself haphazardly off of the bed, jostling Peter in his wake before throwing out his hand in invitation for the younger man to take. Peter continued to smile as he grabbed the other man’s hand and was hoisted out of the bed and all but dragged towards the kitchen.

He felt his stomach tilt slightly as his eyes remained unfocused on everything around him, it almost seemed as if his surroundings were not standing still, but instead were shifting and growing. It made him almost feel sea sick as he gripped Wade’s hand tightly and pulled the older man to stop as he tried to regain his bearings.

Wade jerked back with the movement and turned a confused look over his shoulder at Peter.

Peter lifted a hand to signal that Wade give him a minute, causing the other man to place the hand that wasn’t still holding Peter’s hand gently on the younger man’s shoulder. Wade dipped his head down so that he could catch Peter’s downturned gaze.

Peter attempted a half smile to assure Wade that he was alright, but he failed horribly and had probably ended up grimacing instead.

“Everything… Just looks all…” Peter spoke quietly, not wanting to accidently shout, lifting his hands and waving them around to try and get his point across.

Wade’s brow was furrowed but he nodded nonetheless, giving Peter the time he needed to catch his breath.

When Peter eventually felt like his world wasn’t part of ‘Inception’ anymore, he slowly straightened his back and side-eyed Wade with a sheepish smile, noticing their hands were still interlocked. He wasn’t sure why that caused him to blush the way it did, but he would admit that he didn’t totally hate the contact.

Wade smiled gently and gave Peter’s hand a squeeze before dragging him the rest of the way to the kitchen, depositing the younger man down at the small table in the middle of the kitchen.

Just before Wade could get his hand back, Peter held on firmly and lifted Wade’s hand up properly so he could examine the skin. Wade tensed as Peter dragged his eyes over the hand, but he made no attempt of taking his hand out of Peter’s grip.

Peter ran his fingers as gently as possible over the skin, it looked raw and red, blotchy in most parts and like it hurt like hell. Peter winced as a bolt of what felt like ice raced through his body as he imagined how sensitive Wade’s skin must be, how uncomfortable…

“It must hurt.” Peter mumbled, looking up at Wade with sad eyes. He was not trying to pity the other man, but he couldn’t deny the sadness he felt at Wade getting the real short end of the stick with his mutation.

Wade squared his shoulders, as if he did not like the look Peter was giving him, and it seemed as if he was just about to say as much before he caught Peter’s eyes and something in him deflated. The older man nodded slowly, removing his hand from Peter’s and walking away from the table and towards the kitchen drawers, opening and closing every single one as if in search of something.

When he reached the far left hand cupboard, Peter heard a muffled “Whoop” and cocked his head curiously to the side as he watched Wade practically skip back over to the table, with what looked to be a shopping list or a small notepad and pen in hand.

He tossed it onto the table and pulled up a chair closest to Peter and started scribbling. When he was done, he lifted his head back and stared down at what he had written in silent contemplation before nodding approvingly and sliding it over to Peter.

Peter looked down at the notepad and was met with a crudely drawn penis and “Hi” written in large letters next to it. Peter glared up at Wade, but he couldn’t help the way the sides of his mouth twitched upwards. He scribbled a messily drawn middle finger and his own “Hey” next to it and slid the notepad back over to Wade.

Wade chuckled as he read Peter’s response before leaning back down to write some more. 

 

 

> _Sooo what happened back there? What’s up with the ears?_

 

Peter looked back up at Wade’s eager expression and decided it would be a bit pointless for _him_

to be writing so he decided he would try to speak in what he hoped would be a neutral tone.

“It’s just very loud.” Peter said scrunching up his nose as he thought about it, ‘loud’ not really doing much in way of a description. “It feels as if someone turned up the volume on the whole city and it _hurts_.”

Wade scowled at the description as he listened, grabbing back the notepad and scribbling some more.

Peter remembered something while Wade was writing, he didn’t really want to bring it up, but it might help him understand what was happening to him.

“I heard you… speaking, to yourself, yesterday.” Peter mumbled out, eyes wide as he watched Wade stop writing and the older man's shoulder tense as if he had stopped breathing. Peter’s brain started giving him subtle hints to stop the conversation but Peter had already started talking, there was no point in stopping now.

“But, you weren’t really just talking to yourself were you?” Peter pressed, noticing how Wade still hadn’t looked up at him. “It's the voices isn't it? The ones you told me about last night."

It was a large assumption on Peter’s behalf, but he had never noticed Wade doing anything of the sort while they were in the facility, sure the man had sang out loud and had rambled on and on nonstop, but most of that conversation, no matter how one sided, was a tleast aimed at someone in the near vicinity (mostly Peter though.)

He watched with bated breath as Wade’s shoulders slumped and he leaned up and back in his chair, dragging both hands down his face as if exhausted, nodding in agreement with Peter’s statement as he did so.

“Do you think that’s what’s happening with me too?” Peter asked quietly, his eyes trained on his hands as fidgeted nervously. He didn't want Wade to see the almost petulant look that was now carved into his face at the situation.

Peter heard a soft whooshing sound and looked up to the table to see that notepad back in front of him.

  

 

> _No. what’s happening with me sounds nothing like your thing. The voices are loud and annoying as shit a lot of the time, but I can’t physically block them out like we did with you._
> 
>  

Peter nodded as he understood what Wade was saying. So his seemed to somehow be more physical and Wade’s situation definitely more mental. He let out a deep sigh and leaned his chin on his hand, still staring down at the paper in front of him.

“I’m sorry about the voices.” Peter admitted quietly. “Actually, I’m pretty sorry for everything that happened… maybe… maybe I can fix it one day.” Peter added the last part even more quietly. He desperately wanted to help Wade, but he also didn’t want to give the man any false hope in Peter’s ability to do those things. Peter was smart, but he wasn’t sure he was _that_ smart.

He watched silently as the notepad slipped from the spot he was staring at. He didn’t move his eyes, simply waiting for the notepad to be replaced a few moments later.

  

 

> _Do you really think you could fix me?_

 

Peter looked up from the pad at Wade with wide eyes. Wade looked a bit sheepish, but Peter could see the hope in the other man’s eyes too. Peter sucked in a breath at the look. He was being selfish and putting himself down when it wasn’t even about him. He may not be ready or smart enough to help Wade right at that moment, but he could sure as hell try.

He nodded slowly, despite every instinct telling him not to make that kind of promise. “I think, maybe.” Peter tried to keep his answer as casual as possible, not over selling himself but not shutting down the idea completely either.

Wade’s lip lifted slightly, hope as clear as day on his face, even though it seemed he was trying his best to hide it. Knowing Wade, he probably didn’t want to put any kind of pressure on Peter, even if it was something as serious as this was.

Peter started thumbing nervously at the edges of the note pad, desperately trying not to look at Wade, lest his brain yell at him again for putting that look on the other man’s face.

He noticed Wade’s hand moving towards the pad again out of the corner of his eye, his grip loosening so that Wade could take it from him, but instead of the pad sliding easily across the table as it had before, Peter felt a slight tugging at his fingertips.

He didn’t pay the weird motion any mind at first, his gaze still firmly planted on the table, lost in thought, but eventually the tugging started getting a little more aggressive and Peter could hear faint grumbling coming from Wade’s end of the table.

Peter sighed and looked up at Wade with tired eyes. “What are you doing?”

Wade was grabbing hard at the notepad and pulling back hard, taking Peter’s whole hand and arm with him, making Peter grunt as his ribs rubbed up against the table's edge. Wade lifted the notepad high in the air and looked between the hand attached to it and Peter with wide, confused eyes.

“What are _you_ doing!?” Peter managed to read on Wade’s lips as he studied his hand with a frown.

Peter tried pulling his hand away stubbornly, which only resulted in him ripping the piece of paper his fingers were on off of the pad. He stared down at the paper attached to the tips of his fingers with irritation. “What, did you smear glue all over the pages or something?” Peter growled as he swatted at the paper with his other hand, only succeeding in getting the paper stuck to the opposite hand instead.

He heard a muffled chortle come through the sticky tack, causing him to glare knowingly at the man across from him. Wade was desperately trying to hide his face behind his hand, but one look from Peter had him laughing outright, his body shaking with the action.

“S’not funny Wade!” Peter grumbled, putting the hand with the paper stuck to it to the floor so that he could hold it down with his shoe and pull it off, his cheeks were slightly flushed from embarrassment but thankfully Wade might not have been able to tell, considering Peter had been running hot since he’d woken up anyway.

Peter ripped his hand from the paper with a triumphant smile and a whispered “Yes!”. He stared down at the offending paper, gripping the side of the table as he hoisted himself back up to see a still grinning Wade leaning back casually in his seat, watching the whole ordeal unfold with a look of pure amusement.

“Thanks for the help.” Peter grumbled.

Wade tossed him a thumbs in return which had Peter rolling his eyes, finding that he _could_  actually roll his eyes. They weren’t hurting as much as they had been earlier and he had been too distracted to notice that his headache had also subsided slightly.

He began rolling his eyes around the room in an attempt to test out his limits, but  luckily found that he could easily move them now, which then lead him to hope he could take the damn sticky tack out of his ears.

Peter’s hand twitched at the thought of removing the sticky tack, but he was surprised to find that he wasn’t able to move it. He stared down at his hand that had been gripping the table when he had come back up and found that he was stuck. Again, except to the table this time.

He pointed his free hand accusingly at Wade. “This is not funny Wade!” He growled probably a bit too loudly given the way the other man jumped when addressed.

Wade looked over at him confused. “What?” Peter caught him mouth.

“You know what! Just get me off of here, when did you even have time to do this?” Of all the times to pull pranks, Wade chooses today? The man was absolutely ridiculous and Peter was really not in the mood for it.

Wade cocked his head to the side before glancing down at Peter’s hand on the table with narrowed eyes. Slowly, Wade’s eyes started to widen and a smile starting creeping back onto his face. He pointed at Peter’s hand with raised eyebrows and a shit eating grin, waiting for Peter to confirm the older man’s suspicions.

Peter’s continued glare was more than enough answer and had Wade throwing his head back and clapping his hands together as he laughed at the situation.

“Once again.” Peter grit out. “This is not funny, did you get up in the middle of the night and super glue everything? What is wrong with you?” Peter knew he was sounding very grumpy and maybe just a tad petulant, but the truth of the matter was that he was just so tired. It felt as if he hadn’t slept in ages, which was probably accurate.

Wade’s head was bowed as he kept chuckling, a hand lifted in front of him to wave Peter’s statement off and the other hand was being used to wipe a stray tear from his face as he straightened himself to finally face Peter.

When he did, he must have noticed the tired look on the younger man’s face because he seemed to instantly sober up, shoulders straightening and lips pressing into a firm line. “Sorry.” He mouthed, looking like a scolded child as he fidgeted with his fingers.

Peter shook his head in exasperation and let out a long sigh before moving his free hand up to his left ear. He prodded at the sticky tack worriedly, debating whether it would be the best idea to remove after what he had experienced earlier that morning.

He glanced back at Wade pleadingly, as if the other man would somehow be able to offer any further insight into the situation. Wade didn’t make any comments though, in fact he seemed almost just as worried as Peter did about taking the stuff out.

Wade moved off of his chair to kneel down by Peter’s stuck hand to inspect it while Peter contemplated the sticky tack.

He did feel better, either that was because he had given himself a break or because the problem had somehow fixed itself, but he wouldn’t know unless he checked.

He sucked in a deep breath and screwed his eyes shut, bracing himself as he reached in his ear. He brought it out at a snail's pace, waiting for the barrage of noise and disorientation, but it never came.

Peter huffed out a relieved breath, quickly removing the stuff from his other ear. The inside of his ears still felt kind of sore and he worried if the loud noises had somehow messed up his hearing altogether.

“You can’t go all the way across town on your own Marylin!”

Peter frowned down at Wade, who was currently tugging at Peter’s hand with a look of both confusion and amusement, like a kid with a puzzle toy. “Who’s Marylin?”

Wade did a double take as he heard Peter speak. “What?”

“Marylin.” Peter sighed out in frustration. “You were muttering something about a ‘Marlyin’.”

Wade frowned, moving his eyes to the side in thought, as if he wasn’t actually sure if he had been muttering or not. “Uhm…”

“ You always do this Ethan! I’m not some fragile little doll!”

Peter’s brow furrowed slightly at the voice as he stared back at Wade. It was clearly female.

He chuckled as he realised he was probably hearing the neighbours.

“Sorry, must be the neighbours.”

“Doubt it.” Wade commented casually, fingers moving deftly around Peter’s hand trying to pry it off the table. “There’s no one else on this floor except for Mrs. Johnson at the other end of the hall, and she’s old as fuck, probably dead by now considering how long I’ve been gone, _what the fuck is goin’ on here_?!” Wade yelled out as he continued to pulled at Peter’s hand.

“Is this like, one of those things that happen when you masturbate too much? we need to warn the children!”

Peter blushed scarlet at the comment and swatted at Wade’s head with his free hand, making sure that it was the back of his hand that caught the other man, not wanting to have to deal with the embarrassment of potentially getting stuck to Wade too.

“Shut up, it is no-.” Peter was cut off by a shrill giggle that felt like it had come from right next to him, causing him to scramble quickly away from the noise with wide eyes, landing straight in Wade’s lap, hand still firmly connected to the table. “What the heck was that?” Peter breathed out, staring back at the place he had been sitting. “Did you hear that?”

“I hear lotsa things Baby boy, but I’m starting to think you may be teetering on the cuckoo scale a little too hard.” Wade commented dryly, shifting the younger man in his lap so that they were sitting more comfortably on the floor. “Maybe your situation _is_ like mine.”

Peter shook his head as his eyes darted around the room paranoid. “No-no, it sounded so real.” Peter swallowed thickly, was he going to be hearing little girl’s giggling at two in the morning from now on? Because he certainly didn’t feel like re enacting the “The Shining” for the rest of his life.

Wade rubbed his hand gently up and down Peter’s back in soothing motions. “Yeah, well they usually do.”

“No.” Peter carried on shaking his head in denial. It had been real. The voices he had heard were real. He meant no offense to Wade, but he they had not been in his head, surely someone would be able to tell the difference couldn’t they?

Wade sighed in defeat, he was still clutching Peter’s stuck hand, pulling at it half heartedly. Peter glared at the offending hand and tugged at it too. It was all getting ridiculous now. He was too tired for all of it for goodness sake! First his ears, then his hands, now he may actually be going insane!? It was too much! Peter growled as his frustration overtook him and he pulled his hand, causing the table to groan and creak under the pressure.

Wade’s eyes darted between the table and Peter’s scrunched up face, he looked concerned and awed at the the same time and it was probably because the way Peter was acting may have been a little scary, but Peter didn’t care. He pulled his hand back with a harsh tug, grunting as the wooden table started to splinter.

“Whoa! Hey wait, don’t just-.” Wade was scrambling to stop Peter from breaking his furniture but was just a second too late as a chunk of the table snapped free in Peter’s hand, tiny shards scattering the floor, causing both men to cover their eyes.

When Peter finally opened his eyes, it was to a giant piece of wood still clutched in his hand and a slack jawed Wade staring down at him. He instantly felt relief rush through him as he stared at his free hand, he sighed as his muscles seemed to feel lighter and the piece of wood fell from his palm.

“Thank goodness.” He sighed with a contented smile, still ignoring Wade’s gawking.

He took the time to run his hands together, trying to feel if there was any residual glue left, but felt nothing. His brow creased as he observed his palm closer, not seeing anything at first, but then it almost seemed as if his eyes started to focus more, zeroing in the spot he was staring at. His vision dipped slightly as it had done before when he had been walking, but this time, instead of making him sick, it almost rippled until his hand came into focus, much clearer, much _closer,_ than before.

He could see the lines on his hand in such great detail he almost forgot how to breath, sucking in an awed breath as he noticed the miniscule pieces of leftover wood shards and… something else. He narrowed his eyes and brought his hand closer to his face, he noticed, what seemed to be almost small hairs growing from his hands, too small for the naked eye to see but Peer had already made the assumption that his mutation had messed with his site.

The closer he looked at his palm, the more he recognised what was going on and his mouth dropped open as he tried to form words. “Are-are those _setules_?!”

Wade eyed Peter curiously, shifting so that he could lean in closer to the boys palm. “Say what now?”

Peter gaped, his mind trying to wrap around what was happening. “Ah- setules, they’re tiny little hairs, usually found on spiders. It’s what helps them stick to walls.”

Wade hummed. “You literally have hairy palms, you sure you don’t want to go with the masturbation story?”

“Wade be normal for two seconds please! This is serious and… really weird.”

Wade held up his hands in a surrender fashion. “Yeah yeah okay, so you’re still mutating then?”

Peter turned his hands over, flexing them and still trying to come to grips (heh) with what was going on. They obviously hadn’t seen mutations quite like that while they were doing animal testing, the results had never been so dramatic, something must have been changed for this to happen, heightened senses and strength were the goal of the experiments, so either one was almost always a given with any mutation but-.

Peter whipped his head up as he heard the shrill giggle again, accompanied by the two voices he had been hearing earlier. It wasn’t in his head.

“Peter?” Wade asked carefully, placing his hand gently on Peter’s shoulder as the boy stared at the window on the opposite end of the room with wide eyes.

“It’s not in my head.” Peter muttered, pushing himself out of Wade’s lap, ignoring the older man’s protests about Peter almost hitting the “family jewels” and bounded straight for the window, sliding it open and sticking his head out, the wind whipping his too long hair as he stared down at the street below.

 Just as he’d expected, he saw the woman and the man, and two little girls running around, obviously playing some kind of game and giggling, just as he’d heard earlier.

 Wade stuck his head out next to Peter and followed the younger man's glance downwards. “Whatcha lookin’ at?” He asked in a sing song voice.

“I can hear them.” Peter stated casually, eyes narrowed as he focused on the people.

Wade frowned at the statement and looked back down, leaning lower with his head to the side as if trying to hear too.

“No you can’t” Wade scoffed. “We’re over seven stories high, you’d have to have like super hearing or some- _ooooooooh_!” Wade drawled out, staring back at Peter with wide eyes. “No shit!?”

“Shit.” Peter huffed, running a hand over his face. It was turning out to be a really weird first day of freedom, and it was just exhausting.

“That’s really not fair.” Wade grumbled with a pout. “How come you got all the cool shit and I got ‘Girl Interrupted’ meets ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’?”

“I did _not_ want this Wade!” Peter grit out at the other man. Who the hell would want to deal with powers he obviously had no control of? He didn’t even know how far they extended, how long he would keep mutating, what if it just killed him one day?

Peter dragged his head back in through the window, clutching his chest as his heart beat too fast and his vision started to cloud as his mind speed with what it all could mean. His ribs screamed in protest as his breathing became ragged. After everything that he had put himself through in the morning alone, he’d be surprised if it didn’t take longer for his ribs to heal now.

“Okay Pete, breathe.” Wade was by him instantly, holding him close but gentle, avoiding the younger man’s pained sides and guiding him through what he suspected was a panic attack. Wade was _always_ there! It almost frustrated Peter how concerned the older man always seemed to be for his well being. Especially considering he had his own issues to worry about.

“Why-why are doing this?” Peter hiccuped through his ragged breathing. “Why are you helping me l-like this?”

Wade sighed out against Peter’s ear, dragging his fingers softly through the younger man’s hair. The movement instantly started to relax Peter and he pushed back into touch lightly, trying not to be too obvious.

“I don’t see why I wouldn’t.” Wade responded honestly. “And it’s not like it’s a one way street either Baby boy, you just being there with me helped a lot. It’s helping now.”

Peter couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that his presence alone was enough to make someone else feel better. He had always been incredibly self conscious and would gladly blame the kids at his school for a lot of the way he felt today.

He didn’t argue with the older man though, Wade was incredibly stubborn, which was definitely saying something if Peter was the one saying it.

“We’re so screwed.” Peter huffed, bumping his head against Wade’s shoulder.

Wade chuckled softly, hand still carding through Peter’s hair absentmindedly. “Ain't that the gospel truth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let's talk science for a minute:
> 
> So as discussed in the chapter, spiders basically have small hairs on their legs and on top of THOSE hairs are other smaller hairs called "setules". They are very flexible so basically the spider doesn't dig itself into the wall but rather some sort of magnetic attraction happens called the "van der Waals force". 
> 
> Now this is all really cool, buuuuut in reality Peter wouldn't be able to use this force to climb anything because he would basically be too heavy. 
> 
> But in the spirit of AUs and most fan fiction anywhere... we're just gonna pretend that this is somehow possible XD
> 
> Also, I'm going to eventually change the layout of Wade's writing, but that will only be when I manage to get my ass in gear and mess with the html. For now though it's gonna stay looking weird.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst. Sooooo much angst guys. You might even hate me a little afterwards. 
> 
> Also, I managed to trigger myself while writing this chapter. It's really funny to me now and I'm able to laugh it off but it really wasn't funny last night (-_-).
> 
> Note to self: do not write about nightmares and then decide two minutes later to attempt sleep. Because sleep will not happen.

It had been a few days now and all Peter had managed to do was vegetate on the sofa. He couldn’t seem to manage to eat too much either, even that just ended up being too much effort and he’d just give up. Nothing had taste anymore. Perhaps it was a result of his particular mutation? Wouldn’t that just suck.

They had eventually noticed that Peter also had somewhat of a healing factor - among other things such as heightened strength and senses- after he had healed relatively quickly from his injuries sustained at the facility.

He was nowhere close to Wade’s factor though, which he'd learned was pretty impressive given Wade's stories of how fast he'd healed every time Francis conducted his experiments after Wade mutated. Even so… Wade’s skin never seemed to heal and he was starting to freak Peter out a bit, mostly because it looked like it was constantly moving or changing and Wade had mentioned off handedly how it never stopped hurting.

Out of the two of them, Wade was definitely the most active over the last few days, coming in and out of the apartment and organizing food for Peter and cleaning the place up a little every now and then. Mostly though he’d disappear for a good portion of the day. He’d actually been gone for more than a day and half now and despite Peter’s brain not allowing him to acknowledge any emotion past “meh”, he had still started to worry.

He didn’t really have much in the way of family anymore.. Francis had made damn sure of that before taking Peter into the program. Maybe that was a good thing though, given how he had been lately, how deep inside himself he'd started to go, he would have never wanted his family to see what he was like now. What basic human shell he had allowed himself to be reduced to.

He sniffed as he started to think of them again, all the times he could have spent with them and didn’t. All the times he’d reprimanded his mom for fussing over him when he was hurt or sick, or just not feeling like himself on any particular day.

He’d do anything to have her fuss over him now, to hold him and tell him it was going to be okay, that he was going to be okay.

Wade had held him for a while when he’d caught the younger man trying to stifle his tears. He had scooted Peter up on the sofa so that he could sit against the arm and stretch out his legs, lowering Peter back down so that he was lying on Wade’s chest.

Usually this kind of action would have Peter blushing from head to toe, but there was none of that, it was gentle. Wade hugged Peter close as the younger man cried, running a hand up and down his back to try and soothe him.

Peter had also returned the gesture on a few occasions when Wade was having a particularly bad day. Talking to himself heatedly, or to the voices anyway, and getting angry at the smallest things like the heater in the apartment acting up, or the milk cap not going on quite right. His temper worried and sometimes scared Peter, but he tried to calm the other man down whenever possible, trying to keep in mind Wade's constant pain.

The older man was just so different lately. The sudden change had almost given Peter whiplash. Wade had seemed fine the first day or two, actually they had both seemed relatively fine, but then it was as if the shock of everything that had happened had started to settle in and it just wasn't possible to joke it all off anymore.

Peter sighed and shifted on the worn sofa he was so accustomed to now. It smelt like dust and mold but it was comforting somehow. The whole place was. His mind kept wandering back to Wade and when the other man would be home. He knew Wade didn’t focus on eating unless he was trying to feed Peter too so he probably hadn’t eaten in the day and a half that he’d been gone.

Peter had managed to eat about two slices of old Pizza in that time but he doubted Wade would be all too satisfied with that.

He gave an exasperated huff and pushed himself into a sitting position and eyed the kitchen. He wasn’t entirely sure what time Wade would be home, or whether he would be home at all, but he somehow felt he needed to help relieve some tension in the other man’s life. Aunt May always said that the way to do that was with small gestures instead of grandiose ones. People appreciated the smaller things more.

He walked slowly to the kitchen, already starting to feel his enthusiasm ebb at the thought of making food as soon as he had looked into the cupboards. There was plenty of food, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Peter tended to lose motivation pretty quickly these days. He’d have all these ideas and good intentions to clean up or do something nice for Wade and then as soon as he’d start, he would somehow convince him that there was no real point and he’d stop.

He wasn’t going to do that this time. He couldn’t sit on Wade’s couch for the rest of his life. He wasn’t the only one that was affected and he needed to start taking a page out of Wade’s book and deal with his shit. In some way or another.

He stared at the array of ingredients in the cupboards and held open the fridge door so that he could look in there too. He caught eye of some potatoes in one of the lower cupboards in a vegetable wrack and he crinkled his nose at the sight.

Small Potatoes had been one of the staples served while they were in the program and they had always somehow seemed to be crisp on the outside and then hard and almost slimy once you cut them open. It made Peter gag slightly as he thought of them, deciding to forgo any option that related to potatoes unless it was French fries. Wade would probably agree with him on his decision.

Instead He started taking out ingredients for pasta bolognaise and set to work. It was nothing special and was pretty damn simple even for him but it was something.

He set the kitchen table with two place settings once the majority of the cooking had been done and then sat in front of the tv to wait for Wade.

He smiled to himself as he decided on a Golden Girls marathon. He’d never watched the show before which had Wade almost in tears while they were still in the facility saying how Peter had obviously been deprived as a child.   
The smile fades though as the rest of the memory plays on without his permission and he sees two large goons walk into the room and wheel Wade’s bed away down the hall. Peter yelling at them to give it a rest for just one day.

Wade had looked so tired. He cracked so many jokes and he was always the one to try to cheer Peter up first, but Peter noticed how frail the other man had started to look, how somehow regardless of his own well being, he had still managed to make sure Peter was doing alright, even if it was obvious that Wade was in serious pain.

Peter had always found it weird how they had never been moved away from each other, no matter how much trouble they caused or how much shit they talked, Francis still allowed them to stay close to each other.   
Which of course made sense now. The amount of times one or both of them had to yield to the scientists wishes in fear of their friend being hurt even more was more than either of them had ever been brave enough to acknowledge.

Peter blinked as he felt something warm running down his face and lifted his hand to wipe away the tears that had started to flow. He stared down at his wet hand in frustrated confusion, it happened so often that he'd break down that he was starting to hate how weak he had become.

He glanced over at the clock on the wall and sighed mournfully at the time he had lost.   
That had been happening a little more often too. Where he would just zone out and come back to himself a little while later, it happened often that he would zone out when Wade had been speaking to him, only to come back to the real world to find that the other man wasn't even in the same room anymore.

It was past two in the morning and Peter frowned over at the food in the kitchen. It didn’t seem as if Wade was going to be making a return anytime soon, so he forced himself up and started to clean up and store the food he’d made for the next time Wade might be hungry. He then cleared the table and walked slowly back to the bedroom just off of the lounge.

He startled a few times at shadows cast by light from outside street lamps or other buildings and the squeaking of his own shoes on the wooden floors, but for the most part he managed to make it back to the room and into bed without any major meltdowns, curling himself deep into the blankets, trying to cover as much of himself as possible and bring his legs to his chest. He felt safer this way, he felt like he was protecting more of himself. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep that would not come so easily.

This went on for the next few days. Peter would marathon the Golden Girls and various other shows Wade had told him to watch and then when it would get close to supper time, he would make dinner and set the table for when Wade would get home.

When Wade didn’t show up, he would simply package the food and place it in the deep freeze with the rest of the meals. Luckily he had been snacking a little bit more often so he wasn’t going without food completely. It just made his stomach knot when he thought about eating the food he had made for the both of them alone. He just didn’t feel like he’d get the same satisfaction out of it.

He hadn’t really been sleeping either. It was too quiet being the only person in the apartment. And by too quiet, he meant that he could hear every single small noise there was to be heard throughout the night. He often had to lay awake until the early hours of the morning when it started to get a bit lighter and surprisingly a bit noisier in order for him to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep. The loud noises of the early morning had actually started to become comforting, a welcome distraction from the creaks and groans the floorboards made in the middle of the night.

That left him with a night full of anxiety and panic. Mix that with the new found sadness and loneliness he had started to feel from Wade not being there anymore. Let’s just say that he wasn’t even bothering to look at himself in the mirror anymore.

He was exhausted from getting little sleep and constantly being on edge, which had only managed to translate into his dreams, causing an endless cycle as he got stressed out because he couldn't sleep and then he couldn't sleep because he was too stressed and it was giving him nightmares.

They were unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life time. Nightmares had never really been something he'd had to worry about, he was never one of those children that had been afraid of the dark or had believed in monsters, so he had just never worried.

Now however, they were a constant. And they were horrifying. Often he found that they consisted of shadowed figures, sometimes he would know by instinct that they were the scientists from the facility, the goons that had held him down while electric shocks rang through him. Other times, he didn't know who or what the figures were, but they would always come for him in slow motion, as if trying to drag out his fear, pull as much from him as possible.

He would try to run, but the shadowed figures were not the only ones that moved in slow motion. It would feel as if he was fighting his way through a pool of syrup as he tried to get away, his voice coming out silent as he screamed for help. As he screamed for Wade.

A lot of the time, the dream would take place in the room where he slept. He would both feel and vaguely see the figure move to the edge of the bed where he slept, reaching out for him slowly and making his skin tingle as he waited for the inevitable contact.

The problem with these types of dreams was that waking from them was not a relief, because the setting was exactly the same as when you had been dreaming. Peter would find himself waking from his nightmare, head buried deep under the covers, breath harsh and hot, skin cold and very sensitive as he carried on waiting for the thing in his dream to reach him, too scared to look if it was really there, because what if he looked out past the covers and the thing really was there waiting for him?

That's when he would sit in panic mode, battling to breathe or to think straight, until he eventual heard the calm beginnings of the early morning of the city below him. Only then would he finally start to relax and maybe once in awhile, he would fall asleep again.

He argued with himself that the reason he had been handling everything so poorly was because he had gone a good while not really feeling anything. Wade had been a good distraction over the past few months since Peter was taken, but now it was as if he didn't have anything to distract him anymore, he didn't feel numb anymore, he hurt and he was terrified.

Peter moved through the house at an even slower pace than usual and opened the cupboards to decide the night's meal. He frowned at the dwindling ingredients, realizing that he would eventually have to go out for more. Which presented him with a whole chorus of issues.

One being that he didn’t have money to actually buy anything, and two being that he struggled to get himself out of bed in the morning, let alone actually leave the house, and he still couldn’t bring himself to eat any of the food in the freezer he had made.

He dug further into the cupboards, finally pulling out an easy make lasagna pack. He shrugged at the packaging. Honestly it wasn’t what he had been craving that night, he would have rather gone for a double cheeseburger if it were possible. But he was definitely in the beggar category at that moment and couldn’t really complain.

He set about making the food and setting the table as usual and then walking back to the sofa and settling in for a few episodes of “Friends”.

He actually managed a chuckle now and then while he was watching, he used to love the show and had Aunt May watch it with him almost daily. At the moment though he struggled to get himself to pay attention to most of what was going on. As was usual for him lately, he began shifting in and out of his thoughts as the tv ran aimlessly in the background.

He would have really liked to have enjoyed the show, and the food and he guessed, Wade's company, but he was starting to get worried that the man had actually just up and left him. It would have been an odd thing for any other person, but Wade had always mentioned offhandedly that he had a lot of money stashed in a lot of places, so one run down apartment lost to a former cellmate didn't really seem like it was going to make any difference.

The thoughts depressed him as usual, running in unison with thoughts of his family and how much he missed them, missed holding them and sharing stories from their respective days. He missed his college classes and his boring professors and their monotonous voices. He missed the prospect of having his life planned out. He missed so much and longed for even more that it made his chest hurt.

Rubbing his eyes tiredly Peter resigned himself to go back into the kitchen earlier that night to clean everything up. Maybe if he started going to bed earlier he'd catch the late night bustle before the quiet of the early hours and he may even be able to sleep.

He pushed himself out of the familiarity of the old sofa and slumped towards the kitchen. He would have missed the figure standing silently by the window if it were not for his excessive paranoia about every single shadow in that damn apartment.

He turned towards it and his blood ran cold as he let out a yelp and flew back at least five steps before his brain caught up to who was standing in front of him.

“Wade!” He yelled hoarsely, clutching his chest where his heart felt like it was going to bounce free “Don't do that! Do you want me to have heart failure?”

Wade seemed to stiffen at Peter's words but the younger man chose to overlook it for the time being, he was just way too relieved to see Wade.

“Sorry Petey.” Wade whispered sheepishly, eyeing the floor

Peter huffed as if to prove he was somehow still annoyed, but he couldn't maintain the scowl on his face for too long before it faded into a more neutral expression and he rushed forward, wrapping the other man in a tight hug around his shoulders.

Peter was slightly surprised at himself at the sudden show of intimacy, but he had slept in the same bed as Wade not too long ago so he couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed. He was too happy.

He pulled away slowly when he realised the hug was a little one sided. Wade had brought a hand up tentatively and laid it feather light on Peter's back as if to return the gesture, but it was incredibly stiff and made Peter feel as if he had maybe crossed a line.

“Did you just come in through the window?” Peter asked as he removed himself from the awkward hug, trying not to think too much on Wade’s stiff posture.

Wade rubbed his hand at the back of his neck and Peter could just barely see the smirk on the other man's face. He was wearing his jacket hood up and over his face so Peter couldn't really see much of his face, which he guessed must have been the point.

The realisation that Wade had been going out with all of himself covered up from the world because he was scared of showing himself made Peter remember how much more the other was going through right now.

“Ah, haha, yeah, I wasn't sure if I'd wake you if I came through the front door.”

Peter frowned “You don't need to worry about that Wade, my sleeping pattern isn't that great to begin with.”

Wade looked up just then and Peter was able to see the large expression filled eyes that he'd been greeted with basically every day in the past. He caught himself feeling comfort rush over him at the sight, but Wade's eyes looked kind of... sad.

“Yeah, I know that Petey that's why-.”

“Oh!” Peter cried snapping his fingers together and cutting off the other man's whispered words. “I made dinner!”

He rushed away from Wade and started clanking utensils around in the kitchen and reheating food.

Wade just stood back and watched, the same sad expression on his face.

“I wasn't really sure what time you were going to be back so I've gotta warm it up again. I'm sure it's still good though.” Peter prattled on, dishing up the now steaming food onto both plates.

“I'm sure you're pretty hungry so I'm just gonna dump a whole lot on the plate!”

Once Peter was done, he took his seat excitedly across from Wade's and smiled over at the other man expectantly, who hadn't seemed to have moved much since he got in.

“Come on then! Before it gets cold again!” Peter felt ridiculously giddy in the moment. Wade was finally back! He could actually sit down and have dinner with someone! The food he made would actually get eaten for once.

Wade seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before finally making his way across the room and pulling out the chair to sit down.

Peter smiled brightly at the other man as he picked up his utensils and started to eat slowly, still eyeing Wade as the other man ate too.

“It's really good Petey.” Wade commented softly, gaining a little more speed as he ate.

Peter felt himself preen at Wade's words. Why did that make him so happy? To hear Wade tell him that the food was good? That his food was good?  
Maybe it was because he had been waiting so long for the other man to actually try his food that he'd gotten overly excited.

“Thanks! I mean, it's out of a box but I was still hoping it would be okay anyways.” Peter blushed at his enthusiasm and glanced down at his own plate where he was moving his fork through the food but not eating any more, his stomach had seemed to shrink over the last few days and he realised there was only so much he could actually eat.

“No it's good.” Wade confirmed again, looking up at Peter with a slight smile.

They sat in silence for a while after that. Peter desperately wanted to ask Wade where he had been and why it had taken him so long to get back and at the same time, he also wanted to ask if Wade was going to be leaving again any time soon. He really didn't want that.

Peter wasn't a people person on the best of days, but he really didn't want to be left alone like that again.

Peter absently noticed that Wade had finished his food and was staring at him, his fingers clasped together tightly on the table in front of him with that sad look on his face again.

What was that about? Peter thought solemnly to himself. Maybe Wade had lied and the food had actually been that bad. Peter didn't seem to think it had been bad though, honestly though it really wasn't the best and he should have just taken one of the good meals out of the freezer he had made for Wade previously.

“Peter?”

“Hm?”

Peter dragged his mind out of his jumble of thoughts and his eyes away from his plate to look -reluctantly- at the man across from him.

Wade cleared his throat and pushed the plate in front of him away and into the middle of the table.

“Peter can we talk... please?” Wade was still fiddling with his hands rather nervously. The actions mixed with the pure anxiousness radiating from the other man had knots forming in Peter's stomach.

“You don't like the food?” Peter asked numbly, knowing somewhere in his gut that it had nothing to do with the food.

Wade jerked his head up at the accusation and frowned “What? No? Peter-.”

“Where were you?” Peter whispered as his face distorted with the pain and accusation in his own words. He silently berated himself for allowing his emotions to get the better of him like that. It's not like Wade owed him anything,

The corners of Wade's mouth twitched downwards as he ran his hand to the back of his neck like Peter had seen him do many times before. He was also muttering to himself again. Too low for Peter to pick up on what he was saying but also loud enough for Peter to remember the “voices” or “boxes’ as Wade called them, were technically present too.

“I had something to take care of, I- I still do...”

Peter nodded in quick succession as he listened, it made sense that Wade would still have a life after the facility. “Alright, what can I do to help then?”

Wade's lip twitched ever so slightly at that, but the emotion in his eyes read more of sympathy than amusement.

“You can't Petey.”

“Why not?” Peter asked a little louder than he should have.

He knew it wasn't really his place either way, but if Wade was in some sort of trouble or if he needed help, well then Peter would toss away his latest self absorbed tendencies and help in any way he could.

“It's not- Peter it's not anything to do with you.” Wade sighed and ran a hand across his face. He looked pretty wrecked. As if he had gotten even less sleep than Peter had been getting.

The statement was exactly what Peter had been saying to himself over and over again, and yet it just angered him coming from Wade.

“Wade you're my friend!” Peter yelled, surprising both himself and Wade. “Of course it has something to do with me!”  
Wade had his head hung low and was muttering to himself again. Peter did however hear the word “Friend” repeated in a sarcastic if not rather sad manner.

“I think... Peter I think, I- we need to do our own thing for a little while, it can't be good for either of us to be around each other while we're both still trying to deal with what happened. It's just going to be a constant reminder.”

Wade finished so softly that Peter was grateful for his heightened hearing otherwise he wouldn't have caught it. At the same time, he wished he hadn't.

He hadn't really been on the receiving end of much conversation lately, so he had already begun to feel tired just after raising his voice, but now he was wide awake. Wide awake, but he couldn't get his brain to react.

He stared at Wade with wide eyes and tried to comprehend what the other man was trying to say, whilst simultaneously trying to calm himself down with the implications.

“You- you want me to leave?” He asked still wide eyed.

Had he been that bad? Had he been that much of a pest that Wade would feel nothing just kicking him out onto the street?

Wade's eyes widened too at the expression on the younger man’s face and he moved slowly, pushing his chair out. “No, I'm not asking you to leave. You can have the apartment, it's paid off and you can stay as long as you need until you're back on your feet, even after that.”

“I don't want the apartment.” Peter whispered brokenly. His throat felt dry as he tried to drag in the much needed breaths in order to calm himself down. It wasn't working.

Wade was at Peter's side then, hands hovering just over his shoulders but not touching, as if he too knew that Peter was just barely holding on. The gesture irritated the younger man, but it also made him think that it meant the older man didn’t even want to touch him anymore.

“I'm sorry.” He hiccuped, staring up at the older man as the tears finally started to flow. “I'm sorry I haven't really been doing anything lately, I'll do more, I promise! I'll go out and look for a job tomorrow and-and I'll help with the bills and the groceries, I noticed that we’re running out and I know that's my fault, but I was making dinner! I thought that, maybe when you'd get back you'd really like something home cooked, I thought-.”

Peter's chest clenched as he realised he was going to be alone again, he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. The only people he kept thinking about was his family, his aunt and Uncle, mom and dad. He wouldn’t go to his aunt and Uncle, he wouldn’t put them in harms way like that… he couldn’t go back to his parents.

Wade had enveloped Peter in a tight hug during his mad rambling. Peter had hardly noticed though, it was like his body had gone numb and his brain had frozen. He couldn't possibly stay in Wade's apartment. He just couldn't.

“Peter please. I know... I know this is unfair of me to spring on you all of a sudden, but it'll be much better this way. You'll see.” Wade spoke softly into Peter's ear, rocking the both of them back and forth as he consoled the distraught man.

Peter shook his head at Wade's words. How could he say those things? Of course it wasn't going to be better, Peter had been with Wade for so long now. Did he mean that little to the other man? Did he ever mean anything at all to him?

The thought hit Peter like a ton of bricks. Maybe... Maybe Wade had just saved him out of some sort of penance? Maybe it was just to sort out some debt he thought he owed Peter for putting up with him while they were in the facility.

Peter clenched his fists and fought against the anger that built up inside him at the unfairness of it all. How could he mean so little to Wade when...

“Does what happened with us mean so little?” He asked softly, his tears having stopped and his emotions grinding to a halt as he realised just how much he felt for Wade and how little of those feelings were ever going to be returned.

Wade held him tighter and breathed a broken sigh into the other's man's ear. “It's not like that- Peter?”

Peter had pushed Wade away as he had started speaking so that he could calmly get up from his chair and start collecting the utensils and the empty plates to take them into the sink.

Wade stayed glued to his kneeling position next to Peter's chair as the young man rinsed and cleaned all of the eating utensils and then dried off his hands.

He placed the drying towel on the hook and turned to stare at Wade with vacant, red tinged eyes. “I'm going to go... pack.” He said curtly, moving towards the bedroom.

“What?” Wade asked as he stumbled back to his feet with large eyes.

“I'm leaving.” Peter commented casually as he walked through the bedroom door and stared around.

He knew as soon as he had said it that it was ridiculous. He didn't have anything to pack. They had thrown away the hospital pants he had been wearing when they had first got to the apartment and everything he had been wearing since then had been Wade's clothes. They were always way too big for him, but they were comfy.

“Peter I said you could keep the apartment!” Wade yelled desperately as Peter just stood contemplatively in the middle of the room.

“And I said I don't want it.” He replied calmly, moving over to the closet and grabbing the maroon sweater he always stole from Wade's closet when he was having trouble sleeping. It was a little cold outside from the looks of it and he didn't really want to freeze to death despite how he was feeling at that moment. He wasn't taking much besides the sweater, a pair of old sneakers and the clothes on his back, surely Wade wouldn't be too upset about the sweater.

“Peter where the hell are you going to go right now? It's three in the morning!”

“Not sure.” Peter replied as he shrugged the overly large sweater over his head.

He didn't know where he was going to go, but he could feel his chest tightening again and he wanted to get away from Wade before he started to cry again.

“Peter stop.” Wade grabbed Peter's arm and stared hard into the younger man's eyes. Peter was hoping this was going to be easy. That Wade was just going to let him walk out with that stupidly sad expression he had been wearing all night.

“Please just stay in the apartment at least.. I know it might be a lot to ask but... Please. I don't want you out there alone.” Wade’s eyes looked pleading and it almost made Peter laugh. It looked as if the older man had much more to say, Peter could tell from the way his brow was creasing, as if he was arguing with himself about what exactly he could or should not say. Well, maybe he was doing just that.

And Wade seemed so sincere in not wanting Peter to be out all on his own, but then again he was the one that was forcing Peter to be that way! It didn't matter whether he was out there or in the apartment. He was still going to be alone. At least if he was out there then he wouldn't have to deal with seeing reminders of Wade every single day.

“Goodbye Wade.” Peter sniffed as he pulled his arm from Wade's grasp and ran out of the apartment.

He could hear Wade yelling after him, but he wasn't listening, he just ran, the tightness in his chest coming back full force and the tears overflowing as he came to terms with losing another person he'd cared about.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *flight attendant voice*   
> Please reserve all disapproval until plot point has been revealed, thank you :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *satisfied sigh* The voices were so fun to write! :)

1 Day Earlier:

 

Okay so Wade was starting to feel like shit again. 

He had pretty much bolted as soon as Peter had fallen asleep from the overdose of painkillers Wade had given him those few days ago and Wade was still not over the guilt!

 

_ You make it sound like we purposefully drugged him... _

 

**We didn't ?**

 

“No!” Wade yelled aloud at the voices. Of course he would never do something like that on purpose...

 

**But ya never know with super people right?**

 

Right. Wade nodded once in agreement with the Voice he had so dubbed as “Yellow”. The other he had named “White”. It wasn't all too original in the sense that both voices faded in out of his mind as White and Yellow speech boxes.

As if his predicament wasn't weird enough as it was.

But no. He hadn't intentionally drugged the younger man, but he had however planned on going out again and he was worried because Peter really seemed to be in pain, although he had expected that most of his injuries had healed a long time ago, being all superhumany now and all. Peter had been complaining about muscle aches that kept him awake all the time, typical aftermath of all the electric shocks administered.

Which is kinda how Wade had misjudged the amount he should have given the other man. Like Yellow said... you just never  _ really _ know how much a mutated teenager will need these days.

He felt horrible about other stuff too though, mainly that he knew that Peter had been waking up to an empty apartment nearly every second day of the week and in the mental state he was in, it probably wasn't all too good for his psyche.

Wade sighed and rubbed the palms of his hands hard against his eye sockets, as if he could somehow push the guilty thoughts away. Why the hell did he feel so guilty letting Peter wake up alone?

 

_ You know why. _

 

**Wade and Peter sitting in a treeeeeeeeeeee!!!**

 

Wade growled at the voices and hit his fist against the side of his head in the hopes of shutting them up. 

 

**Yeeeaaaah, not gonna help Puddin'.**

 

 _No Squad references please. We're better than that._

 

**Are we really though?**

 

Wade decided that he would rather just ignore them altogether (if he could) and scanned the dark city below him with hard eyes and hummed to himself in an effort to block the voices.

 

_ Are you humming  _ **_Don Omar_ ** _!? What year do you think this is!? _

 

**OOOOOO! I Love this song! Mueve la ca...something something...*incoherent mumbling***

 

_ Cabeza. It's Mueve la cabeza you colossal idiot.  _

 

**HA! you said Cabeza! That's hilarious!**

 

_ Oh my god _

 

Dammit. Wade was somehow hoping they wouldn't know that one. He grit his teeth and screwed his eyes shut tight. “Of course they'd fuckin' know it you idiot.” He growled at himself. 

He calmed his breathing and continued to hum the song, this time in the hopes that it would somehow calm him down. He wasn't going let anyone, not even himself, distract him from his mission.

He had been going to that specific rooftop for almost every night now. That was pretty much his life outside of the apartment. Other than tracking down any lame leads Weasel had on Francis.

He searched the streets and knew he wasn't actually going to spot anything until the early hours of the morning anyway.

She had a thing for doing that lately. Leaving early in the evening and then coming back at around four in the morning. Wade had come to the conclusion that she had picked up her old job back at the bar, but some angry and jealous part in him told him that it was something else entirely.

 

**Am I the angry, jealous part?**

 

_ No, no. You're the annoying, stupid part. _

 

**Oh yes of course.**

 

Wade's eyes kept scanning the streets for the next few hours, he realised that it had become somewhat of an unhealthy addiction. He also knew that he and Vanessa hadn't exactly left on good terms anyway and to go crawling back to her almost seemed cruel because it had been so long.

It didn't help that his thoughts kept jumping back to a particular brunette and his ridiculous face and his stupid smile, and what was up with his stupid jokes anyway? What was he just a walking encyclopedia of pop culture references from the 80s and 90s??

Wades stomach tilted in that unusual way it did when he thought of the boy.

It was annoying is what it was.

Wade had somehow contracted some form of Stockholm syndrome from being cooped up so long with Peter and now it had followed him outside of the facility and was messing with his real life.

 

_ I'm not sure you understand the definition of Stockholm Syndrome. _

 

**Also... Peter is as real life as this chick. Have you seen that ass? It may seem dreamy but that shit is aaaaaaall real!**

 

Once again Wade decided to ignore the voices. To him it only seemed natural that they preferred Petey since he was the only other person they had every really been around. They were clearly biased and couldn't be counted on to be objective.

Wade on the other hand knew what he had had with Vanessa before the shit hit the fan as something he couldn't really let go. And Peter, well,  like he said, Peter had been stuck with him for months in the facility, and anything the boy felt wasn't really care or... something else. It was dependence.

Wade never blamed Peter though. He guessed that, that's what happens when you lose all the people closest to you in such a short amount of time. You cling on to the nearest piece of solid trash you can find in the hopes that you don't float away. 

 

_ That wasn't self deprecating at all _

 

Wade jerked out of his thoughts as he saw a flurry of long, dark brown hair walking swiftly down the side walk towards the apartment block, the woman scanning the area around her in a rather paranoid fashion as she opened the security gate.

Wade loved to admire how beautiful she was, how somehow she had chosen him. But then... he also noticed how tired she was looking too, it was off putting in a way that this was someone he always saw as so put together an now she looked like she was barely getting enough down time, if any at all. 

He had decided already that it was the night to confront her, to say what he needed to say and see if she would even consider him anymore after everything that had happened.

Not that he would actually expect that of her, but he needed to know before he could move on with his life. Maybe he could finally give Peter the attention his boy deserved, even if he felt it would somehow never be returned. 

 

_ Did you just say “your boy”? _

 

**oh snap**

 

Wade stuffed his binoculars into the backpack he had been lugging around with him and made his way down the side of the building via the fire escape. He'd been there long enough to judge which apartment was hers, obviously by that he he meant he watched like a crazy stalker until he saw her in one of the windows.

It was a little harder to track her down considering she had moved apartments. Which Wade found a tad annoying considering he had bought her that last apartment.

He made his way quickly across the street and silently as possible up the fire escape, all the while going over and over in his head what exactly he was going to say when he saw her. 

“Hey babe. Remember me? No? I didn't think so considering I'm a huge, hulking mass of rotting whale blubber now and I'm also even more psycho than the last time we shacked up.”

He huffed out lowly, stopping outside of the apartment window, peering into the dark living area.

 

_ 10/10 description.  _

 

He made sure to give the area another once over before trying the window. He was surprised when it slid open easily and silently.

 

_ We could have just used the front door. _

 

**Where’s the fun in that?!**

 

He climbed through and landed softly on the other side, his back towards the inside of the apartment while he closed the window again.

Wade felt a slight unease in his shoulders, the same unease you usually get when you feel like someone is watching you, when there was a soft “click” noise and something pressing hard against the back of his head, causing him to go rigid and hold his breath.

“You picked the wrong apartment.” Came Vanessa’s voice from behind, it was different to the last time they had spoken, cold and calculating, nothing like he’d ever heard from her before.

 

**Well this is exciting.**

 

“Turn around. Slowly.”

Wade dragged in a long breath and screwed his eyes shut as he moved to face her. He suddenly didn’t feel ready for her to see him in the state he was in. He had been watching her come and go from the apartment for days and was sure he’d be able to do it, but now that he was there, he was petrified that she’d run away screaming.

“I said  _ turn around _ .” Vanessa bit out, shoving the gun harshly against the back of his head.

“Alright, alright.” Wade said casually as he turned around to face her full on with bated breath.

“What are you doing here?” She asked in the same cold tone.

“Well it wasn’t to have a gun shoved at the back of my head that’s for sure! I pictured this moment in a few ways and this was honestly on like, the bottom of my list, Okay not the  _ bottom,  _ ‘cause someone’s always pointing a gun at my head but-.”

“Wade?”

Wade stared past the gun in his face, toward the now scared woman behind it, realising in that moment that she may not have recognised him at first, considering he also still had his hoodie up over his head.

He slowly raised his hands to the hood and lowered it carefully. He was still under the impression that she was going to put a bullet through his head the moment she saw him, or even if he moved just a little too quickly.

He watched as her eyes widened and the look instantly had his heart sinking. The moment was almost in slow motion as Wade lowered his hands to his sides and his eyes to the ground, he couldn’t look at her.

He felt his heartbeat in his ears as he felt soft hands on the sides of his face, gently caressing his cheeks.

“Wade, what did you do?” Vanessa sighed out brokenly, lifting Wade to face her tear stained one.

 

**Of course she’d blame us.**

 

_ Have you met us? _

 

Wade brought his eyes up to meet Vanessa’s and sighed at the sight of the beautiful brown eyes before him, staving down thoughts of another pair of browns that he’d been staring at almost daily for the past year.

“Whatever I had to.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

They just held each other for a long time after that. Vanessa cried a lot, which made Wade nervous because he wasn’t sure which part of the whole ordeal she was actually crying about. 

Wade didn’t cry. Maybe he lost the ability to do so after he and Peter had escaped. Maybe it had been beaten out of him.

 

_ Liar. _

 

**Well then that was some butt ugly hallucination crying on Petey’s lap two weeks ago.**

 

Wade growled at the voices. He wished they would stop bringing stuff like that up. It didn’t help the situation in the least.

He and Vanessa had spoken after she had regained some calm and was able to speak properly. He explained to her about the cancer, why he had left and then he half assed an explanation of the Superhero program, not wanting to go into any details, she didn’t need that.

Vanessa cried some more and Wade started to feel even shittier. She had gone on to tell him how it didn’t matter anymore. That it was all over and that he could come back if he wanted to, they could be together again, despite all Wade’s protests about how she hadn’t signed up for any of his bullshit, and arguing about how she deserved someone better (in terms of being a better person and just looks in general).

She caught him at every evasive turn, and Wade would have been ecstatic with all of it. If there wasn’t something bugging him just at the back of his mind.

 

**Ahem!** **_SOMEONE_ ** **.**

 

He had tried not to think about him while Vanessa spoke about living together again. Being together. He tried, but that stupid face kept popping up and it made him feel guilt that he couldn’t understand.

Peter was still young, he was still  _ good.  _ Wade couldn’t stand the way the younger man had looked lately, the way he skulked around the apartment and barely ate. It was killing Wade slowly to see him like that and Wade couldn’t help but think that maybe it was because of him. 

He’d become too close, too affectionate of someone that he just really didn’t deserve. He tried to explain to himself why he didn’t think the same with Vanessa and maybe it was because they had a different type of history, she had chosen him before and after.

 

_ And Peter hasn’t? _

 

That was just it though. Wade knew that Peter had no outward issues with the way Wade was now, he never spoke ill of the voices and often on occasion, he had even asked their opinion on some things, which made Wade both unhappy and happy at the same time, because Peter did weird shit like that to Wade’s brain!

But, he and Vanessa had history. Maybe it was the safest option, maybe he didn’t want Peter to stay with him just because they had been thrown together into the situation they were.

“It’s not care. It’s dependence.” Wade repeated to himself the whole back to the apartment. 

He needed to break this off, whatever it was. He wasn’t going to hold Peter back like that. The boy needed to realise there was more out there besides his suffering and Wade, some person he met at some torture house that didn’t even care enough to stick around much afterwards.

That was a lie though. He didn’t even know why he was saying that. Of course he had wanted to stay with Peter, he’d wanted to be there every single day to tell the boy that it was all going to be okay and that he could take all the time he needed to heal. To make the damn guy  _ eat _ !

He wanted to be there for Peter to tell him the same things back. 

But that’s not always how life works, and you don’t get what you truly want. Wade had to go look for Francis, a trail that was slowly dwindling the longer he took. He needed to find Vanessa again, he needed the closure. He hadn’t actually planned that he would be getting back with Vanessa, that he would be going back to Peter to tell the boy they were going their separate ways.

 

_ You say it like it’s a mutual decision _ . 

 

“He’ll understand one day.” Wade muttered as he climbed the fire escape to their own apartment. 

Wade had actually managed to come back to check up on Peter most nights and days, Peter was always sleeping though, he wondered if the boy even knew how much he was sleeping, or if he even cared.

He had seen the food set up one night in particular, he didn’t usually go into the apartment, he would just kind of peek in from the outside to see if Peter was still there. A few nights ago however he couldn’t help himself when he saw Peter shivering on the sofa while he slept, the blanket having been thrown off of his body.

He’d snuck in quietly and draped the blanket back over Peter as he slept. When he turned to leave again (because he was a fucking coward) he saw the table in the kitchen was set up nicely and food was sitting cold on the stove.

He had a wave of excitement when he thought that Peter was finally eating, but the thought dwindled when he saw the food was untouched and that there were two place settings on the table. 

Wade hadn’t ventured into the apartment much after that but he had hoped Peter had given up on making all that food every night, he didn’t like the idea of the boy waiting all night just for someone to show up who never would.

 

**Wow. You really are an asshole.**

 

Wade bristled at Yellows words, but he couldn’t deny the truth. He was an asshole. He hadn’t told Peter where he was going, he’d left no messages, no indication that he was even coming back and yet, this boy kept waiting up for him every night anyway!

He felt an irrational sliver anger work it’s way through him at the boys actions. Wade wasn’t being the ridiculous one! Peter was! He was relying too much on the older man and it didn’t even make sense to Wade. Okay yeah, it kinda did, but why did he have to make Wade feel all of these things!?

 

**I thought we were supposed to cause all the brain chaos?**

 

_ Yeah, looks like he’s doing just fine on his own.  _

 

“I don’t need your shit right now!” Wade growled

 

_ Temper. _

 

“Fuck off.”

 

He made his way to the window, peering in silently. Once again, just as he had expected, Peter was on the sofa. He wasn’t entirely sure what else he thought he was going to see but he had silently hoped that the boy had managed to get some more life into himself.

He knew that was a bit too much to expect from someone who had lost so much in such a short span of time, but Wade needed Peter to do well on his own somehow, he needed to know that what he was about to do was not going to affect Peter in any big way. At the very least he just expected the boy to be mildly upset at losing some company but that was about it.

 

_ Yeah, that and a place to stay _

 

“I’m leaving him the apartment.” Wade whispered, as if that was totally obvious. He would never have kicked Peter out, especially considering he had gathered more than enough evidence to suggest that Francis was still alive and kicking, and just as Wade had feared, it looked as if the man had picked up exactly where he had left off with the other facility. 

He had a feeling that Francis would not be all too happy at seeing either of them again, although Wade had plans to make their reunion a good one. For himself anyway. 

He focused his attention back on the apartment. He could easily sneak in and go back to the room to sleep. He didn’t want to have the discussion with Peter tonight, it seemed unnecessary considering how tired the younger man looked.

Wade slowly slid the window open and moved in quietly in the dim light of the television, trying his hardest to land his heavy boots quietly on the floor boards of the apartment. He managed to miss any creaks as he turned back and slid the window back down. 

 

**Hey dumbass, we got movement!**

 

Wade stiffened and slowly turned towards the long yawn he heard behind him, noticing Peter making his way sleepily to the kitchen. It felt ridiculous to think he had been caught sneaking into his own place, but that’s exactly how he felt as Peter turned towards him and the boy went stiff. He literally felt like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

 

**Mmmm cookies.**

 

_ Really not the time _

 

“Wade!” The younger man yelled out incredulously, placing a hand over his chest and taking a deep breath in. “Don't do that! Do you want me to have heart failure!”

Wade felt guilt rush through him, thinking of all the times Peter had been jumpy at pretty much everything when he was just casually strolling through the apartment, and here was Wade, the asshole that he was, nearly giving the kid heart failure.

“Sorry Petey.” Wade whispered back, shuffling on his feet, a light blush forming in his cheeks at being caught.

There were a few moments of silence before Wade was nearly toppled over as Peter rushed him, wrapping long arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. 

Wade had been so surprised by the action that he hadn’t made much of a move to reciprocate the gesture. He tried to move his hand to give Peter comfort in return but the boxes had started to yell at him about why he had come back to begin with. Would the gesture be misleading if he did reciprocate? 

So instead, he stayed stiff, his thoughts a mess of guilt and want. Want because, he did want to comfort the younger man. So badly. 

Eventually though it seemed as if Peter picked up on the other man’s awkwardness and he slowly let go, an embarrassed blush could be seen on Peter’s face and it very nearly made Wade chuckle. 

“Did you just come in through the window?” 

Wade could hit himself he felt so stupid. He really should have just used the front door, it would have been way less embarrassing and way less like he was trying to avoid Peter. Even if he kind of was.

“Ah, haha, yeah, I wasn't sure if I'd wake you if I came through the front door.”

“You don't need to worry about that Wade, my sleeping pattern isn't that great to begin with.”

Wade felt ice run through his veins as Peter spoke about his lack of sleep so casually. It was so wrong that he was going through all of this. Wade couldn’t help the mournful look that fell over his face as he stared back at Peter. 

Peter being in the apartment with Wade, waiting for him day and night was not helping, he knew that. It must have been  a reason for some of the other man’s restlessness. Maybe if he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about Wade anymore then everything may be a little bit easier for him. 

Wade hadn’t intended on doing this tonight, but maybe leaving it any longer was going to be a problem.

“Yeah, I know that Petey that's why-.”

Just before Wade could finish his thought, an excited look washed over the younger man’s face as he declared he had made dinner, running off to the kitchen and immediately starting to heat up the food in the oven.

Of course he had made food. How long had he been doing that for? Wade had been gone for days since the first time he had seen Peter cook food for the two of them. He felt so conflicted at the sight, Peter seemed so excited as he moved dishes and food around. 

Wade had never seen that look on Peter’s face before, which made sense considering they hadn’t exactly shared the type of experiences together to warrant that kind of reaction. Wade felt a stab in his heart as he realised he had never actually seen the other man truly happy in all the time they had known each other and the thought put a huge, sickening weight in his stomach. How could Peter be around someone whom he had only shared bad times with? it wasn’t healthy.

“I wasn't really sure what time you were going to be back so I've gotta warm it up again. I'm sure it's still good though, I'm sure you're pretty hungry so I'm just gonna dump a whole lot on the plate!”

Wade continued to watch Peter as the boy dished up the food, the excitement still on his face. Wade hadn’t moved though, he felt awkward in the seemingly domestic situation, it felt so wrong given the discussion he was going to have with the boy.

“Come on then! Before it gets cold again!” Peter called excitedly from the table. 

The excitement and smile on Peter’s face threw Wade off a little. Barely anyone looked at him with that kind of expression, as if he was actually someone special, someone worthwhile, and not some damaged mercenary with bad jokes.

Wade made his way slowly to the table and took a seat opposite Peter. He could feel the younger man’s eyes on him constantly as he sat and even still when he began to eat. 

Wade wasn’t sure how much he was going to be able to eat though, his stomach was in nervous knots and he hadn’t really been eating that much lately either, maybe the odd taco now and then but that was about it. Which is why he was surprised by how his stomach growled when he took the first bite. He instantly regained his hunger, feeling a little more excitement at having a home cooked meal or the first time in ages. He dutifully let Peter know how good the food was, revelling in the way the boy's eyes lit up the comment.

Peter prattled on about how the food had come from a box, but Wade didn’t really care where it had come from. The fact that Peter had made it with Wade in mind was more than enough to keep the older man smiling softly across the table.

 

***Cough, cough***

 

Wade jerked as he realised he was still staring, that stupid smile still on his face. He couldn’t do that. He had already made up his mind. He couldn’t be selfish now just because Peter made him feel all warm and fuzzy or whatever. He needed to concentrate on what was best for Peter. 

“Peter?” 

“Hm?” 

Peter didn’t seem to be paying much attention anymore. Wade hadn’t really liked to mention it but Peter had started spacing out more and more as the days went on. His memory was something that had also seemed to be an issue lately. The boy would be in the middle of doing something and then he would just get a blank look on his face (much like the one he had now) and then… he would just stop whatever he was doing. It often lead to Peter standing in the middle of nowhere just staring around the room as if he were lost.

When Wade had questioned it, Peter had just stared at him for a long while as if trying to absorb the words. It grated on Wade a little bit sometimes, considering he wasn’t one for patience to begin with, but after everything they had been through, he found himself getting more and more frustrated with smaller and smaller things, something he tried to keep from taking out on Peter.

“Peter can we talk... please?” Wade’s throat felt like it was constricting around the words as he said them, but he got them out anyway.

“You don't like the food?” 

Wade frowned hard at the other man’s words, trying to figure out what on earth the food had to do with anything.“What? No? Peter-.”

“Where were you?” Peter whispered from the other end of the table. The look on his face and the accusation and absolute  _ betrayal  _ in the boy’s voice had Wade feeling like the biggest piece of shit under the sun.

 

**Well yeah, that’s cause you are! Look at that face! look what you did! You made the precious sad!**

 

“It’s not as if I meant to.” Wade muttered lowly to the voices. “None of this was supposed to happen to begin with. He shouldn’t be here.”

 

_ While you’re having an inner struggle, he’s still waiting for you to speak. _

 

Wade flinched at how crazy he must have looked but he didn’t raise his head or eye’s when he spoke next.

“I had something to take care of, I- I still do...” 

“Alright, what can I do to help then?”

Wade almost smiled at Peter’s enthusiasm to help him. Whatever affection this boy held for him was seriously misplaced.

“You can't Petey.”

“Why not?” 

Wade felt like he could pull his hair out if he still had any left! 

“It's not- Peter it's not anything to do with you.”

He couldn’t, for the life of him explain that he needed to go back to his old life. He needed to try to be at least semi normal again or else he was going to get worse. He was going to get stir crazy and angry and frustrated and it was all going to be aimed at Peter eventually. That wasn’t  _ fair _ !

He also couldn’t, for the life of him, tell Peter how much it hurt seeing him every single day. 

Peter was this constant reminder of everything that had happened, and Wade couldn’t possibly take his mind away from it all if he saw the boy every single day. He couldn’t possibly tell Peter that sometimes when Wade watched him flinch or cringe at things that weren’t there… it gave him flashbacks of Peter in that damn chair!

“Wade you're my  _ friend _ !” Peter yelled, making Wade jump. “Of course it has something to do with me!”

 

**PFT! freind!? Bitch please!**

 

_ What were you expecting?! _

 

**A confession of undying love?**

 

_ Yeah good luck with that. We all know we don’t deserve that from  _ **_anyone._ **

 

“Even ‘friend’ is pushing it.” Wade grumbled.

“I think... Peter I think, I-  _ we  _ need to do our own thing for a little while, it can't be good for either of us to be around each other while we're both still trying to deal with what happened. It's just going to serve as a constant reminder.”

Wade tried to deliver what he was trying to say very gently, he didn’t need Peter freaking out unnecessarily. They were just parting ways was all. No big deal. Where was the loss in all of this on Peter’s part?

Wade waited silently for Peter’s response, glancing up at the boy after a few moments of awkward silence, trying to see if Peter had actually heard him.

Peter looked… confused. He pretty much looked exactly the way he did when he had forgotten something and was confused about what he was doing or where he was going. It seemed as if he didn’t quite understand what Wade had said. 

 

**I can hear the wheels spinning from here.**

 

“You... want me to leave?” Peter asked with wide eyes. It seemed as if it was half statement and half a question, as if Peter was still trying to make sure he was understanding what was going on.

Wade realised then what his mistake was. He had intended to give Peter the apartment, it was the least he could do. But him and his big mouth and bad explanations hadn’t gotten that across

“No, I'm not asking you to leave. You can have the apartment, it's paid off and you can stay as long as you need until you're back on your feet, even after that.”

Wade pushed his chair out and wandered over to Peter as he spoke, hands raised as if to show the boy he meant no harm. 

“I don't want the apartment.” 

Wade paused momentarily at the hurt in Peter’s voice, his stomach dropping. The boy had sounded so broken.

Wade moved closer, hovering over the younger man and trying to figure out if he would be allowed to comfort Peter the way he had done over the past weeks. If he was even allowed to touch the boy at this point in time. 

“I'm sorry.” Peter got out eventually, tears now flowing down his face and he started apologizing for the most obscene things. Things he couldn't possible control!

Wade watched with wide eyes as Peter started to hyperventilate, struggling to take in breaths. As painful as it was to watch Peter’s reaction… it was his words that cut through Wade. Somehow Peter had turned everything around in his mind and he had decided that Wade was sick of him, but not just sick of him, but sick of him being  _ depressed _ !? Sick of him making food for Wade and being the person he was by trying to look after Wade and making sure he had a home cooked meal whenever Wade eventually decided to come back!?

It was then that Wade decided that he didn’t care if Peter punched him right in the face. He moved quickly to Peter’s side and hugged the boy tightly to his chest. He couldn’t understand the boy’s reaction but he argued that it was because everything was still so fresh. Maybe he had done this all too soon? He held Peter harder, his hands grabbing at the boys shirt as if to somehow draw him nearer to stop the sobs that were wracking through his small frame. 

“Peter please. I know... I know this is unfair of me to spring on you all of a sudden, but it'll be much better this way. You'll see.” Wade said softly, trying to soothe the both of them by rocking Peter slowly. He didn’t know what else to do. His blood had run absolutely cold and he felt like something inside him was falling apart as Peter began to shake his head in disagreement. 

“Does what happened with us mean so little?” Peter whispered the words hot against Wade’s chest, making the older man tense. 

It wasn’t like that though? It wasn’t as if Peter suddenly meant nothing to Wade. It wasn’t that at all! Wade just didn’t know what else to do! He couldn’t keep Peter with him like he had been. Peter couldn’t feel obligated to stay with Wade when it meant that they were both going to suffer in some way because of it. The boy had become too comfortable around Wade, that was  _ dangerous!  _

Wade was a mercenary for crying out loud! He hadn’t even told Peter that part yet. And he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t drag another person into his messed up life like that, especially someone like Peter who could actually have some sort of future. 

No matter his feelings… It wasn’t about Wade. This was about Peter- 

 

_ Sure it is. _

 

\- And Peter needed to set his life on a course that was as far away from Wade Wilson as possible.

“It's not like that- Peter?”

Wade’s thoughts scrambled as Peter pushed away from him gently, his face was a blank mask, the tears having stopped completely, but his face was still streaked with them, his eyes red and puffy. The boy moved around the table, casually collecting the plates and cutlery and then moving over to the sink and filling it. 

Wade stayed exactly where he was, kneeling next to Peter’s chair, watching the boy with wide eyes.

 

**Did we break him?**

 

Wade tried to not disrupt the situation, he was even trying to breathe quieter. The way Peter was acting had wade on edge, he’d always preferred people that were easy to read. It had always been something that made his job easier. he’d often worked with men that killed whole families with no apparent emotion on their face, and that scared Wade more than any war cry ever would.

Peter had always been someone Wade could easily read, which is how he talked himself out of his tense stance. Peter would never do anything. They may not have known each other as long as wade had known Vanessa, but he knew Peter, perhaps in a deeper sense.

The younger man wiped his hands dry on the towel above the sink before turning around and facing Wade, but not quite looking at him.

“I'm going to go...pack.” Came the younger mans curt voice, causing Wade's eyes to go wide and to almost launch himself forward as if trying to catch the words and their meaning.

“What?” 

“I'm leaving.” 

Wade watched with wide eyes as Peter strolled past him and towards the bedroom. None of what had happened had gone the way he had expected. He had expected Peter to be upset, but the anguish he had seen in Peters eyes had been so personal it had thrown Wade for a loop.

The contrast though, between that anguish and the way the younger man was acting now sent chills up Wade's spine. He had never thought that he'd be able to feel unease or almost scared around Peter the way he was now. 

And it wasn't even because Wade thought Peter would be able to hurt him if he was angry enough to try, but it was because the usually expressive younger man had seemingly no expression or tells at all at that point, and it was eerie. 

Wade watched as Peter stared around the bedroom, as if looking for something he needed to take with him. Wade felt pity course through him as he realized the boy didn't actually have anything of his own  _ to pack.  _ What the kid planned on doing was a mystery to Wade as Peter started to move around the room slowly.

“Peter I said you could keep the apartment!” 

“And I said I don't want it.” 

Wade watched as Peter dug into the closet and pulled out one of Wade's oldest sweaters. The Merc had lent it to Peter one pretty cold day when the central heating had decided to go bust and the boy had worn it ever since. Wade had noticed on a few bad days how Peter had clutched to the soft material with a dazed look on his face, maybe it had somehow been comforting.

“Peter where the hell are you going to go right now? It's three in the morning!”

“Not sure.” 

Peter pulled the sweater over his head and his hands went straight to the hem of the jersey, clutching the way Wade had seen before. The older man had no issues with Peter taking his clothes and if it was what was going to make him feel better then Wade would let Peter take the closet if he needed it.

“Peter stop.” Wade grabbed Peter's arm and watched knowingly as the younger man battled to breath, to keep the calm facade he had been wearing since they had been in the kitchen. 

“Please just stay in the apartment at least.. I know it might be a lot to ask but... Please. I don't want you out there alone.” 

Wade couldn't stand the thought of Peter out in the world alone. They both needed their space but that didn't mean he wanted Peter to endanger his life by going out there alone. 

Besides the fact that there was a very big possibility that Francis was still on the loose.. 

None of this had gone how he had expected! Peter wasn't supposed to be so upset! The boy wasn't supposed to want to  _ leave!  _ Why didn't he understand? Wade couldn't be the only one of them that struggled with being so close to the memories of the facility as he was when Peter was around. It's what made him irritable half the time, or angry enough to see Peter actually flinch back in fear when Wade would go off. 

Even though the thought of Peter leaving was breaking something inside of Wade he didn't quite understand, he couldn't justify the fact that one day he might just hurt the younger man because of the way he was now. He couldn't think of a better way that wasn't going to inevitably land up with one, or more likely, the both of them getting hurt.

“Goodbye Wade.” 

The words sent cold through Wade's veins as Peter withdrew his arm from Wade's grasp. The look in Peter’s eyes showed a hurt and finality that Wade had never wanted to be witness to. 

He watched shell shocked as the boy ran out of the room and only regained himself when he heard the front door slam open. 

He shook himself and ran after Peter, he couldn't let the younger man leave. They would work something out, they had to. 

“Peter!” Wade yelled as he slid around the corner past the kitchen, launching himself through the front door.

“Peter-” Wade gasped out as he felt his skin burn and his eyes water. He had only made it to the top of the stairs when he was down, clutching at the railing hard as images of his own feet walking over rubble and dead bodies flooded into his head. 

He couldn't breathe as the smoke from the blast filled the room and stung the back of his throat.

“Peter!” 

He shook violently as he looked down to a young girl, she must have been no older than Peter, eyes wide open and unseeing, she had no visible wounds and seemed to be nowhere near any rubble from the destruction.

She had suffocated. Wade had done that. But in that moment he hadn't cared, it didn't matter. She wasn't who he was looking for and it would be a waste of time to check her pulse at this point. Someone else's baby had been killed in Wade's attempt to relieve himself of what they had learnt later was months and months of pain. 

He didn't care. He hadn't anyway. The faces flooded back to him as he cataloged all the ones who could have survived. All the people he could have saved. Five? Ten? More. 

Wade cried out helplessly and wrapped himself tighter around the railing above the stairs, burying his face into the cold steel, feeling slight relief where it touched his fiery skin. He cried hard and loud and desperate, the sobs shaking his body and getting stuck in his throat. 

He cried for all the pain he had been caused when all he had wanted was to get better, to live his life, to settle down. He cried for all the people in the facility who had wanted the same thing and had died because Wade had thought his want was greater. He cried for Peter. For the snarky boy that had entered the facility and for the broken one that had left.   
Mostly though, he cried because he had been right. They couldn't be together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sorry to put you guys through that all again, usually I'm not fond of reading/writing the other persons point of view of the same situation but it seemed necessary for this chapter.
> 
> Also, Wade's and Vanessa's relationship in this fic is very different to the one in the movie, I've followed more of the comic background (which by the way is limited to like one page so the movie did a stunning job there!)
> 
> This was also the last chapter I had planned and half written before actually posting this fic so it's gonna be interesting to see where I go from here (I still have a lot of notes though!) Happy reading :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo boy I thought this chapter was going to take longer but thank the heavens, I am actually getting it out earlier than expected :)! Which is still late but bear with me for the next couple of days it's a little hectic on my side right now but still gonna try and get the chapters out in a reasonable amount of time! 
> 
> Also... WE HIT 400 KUDOS! (and then some) thank you guys so much! I dunno if that number is a lot to other people buuut it is to me so I appreciate all the support :)))

Peter had run so fast out of the apartment and down the stairs that Wade’s calls nearly had him tripping over his own feet as he pushed his way past a woman coming through the front door and out into the cold, winter air.

He couldn’t stop though, his legs wouldn’t allow him, his mind wouldn’t let him. His jumbled thoughts had carried him down the stares and blocked out the pain in Wade’s voice that Peter’s subconscious had caught onto. He was too angry, too hurt to believe that there was anything besides relief in the other man as he had run out.

He stood still on the sidewalk for a moment to get his lungs used to cold air he was breathing in. He hadn’t been outside in what must have been over a year if he cared to keep track of time. The last time he was outside was when Wade had taken him back to the apartment, but Peter was unconscious so he didn’t really think that counted.

Eventually he started walking again, he couldn’t stay still, he needed to move. He needed to distract himself in some way from everything that was happening around him. He felt like a newborn entering the world for the first time. Despite it only being past three in the morning, everything felt too bright. The street lights were too bright, the car lights were too bright, he’d been squinting as soon as he got into the open.

It felt as if everyone was staring at him, everyone was whispering about him. Everywhere he turned he saw eyes glued to him and heard whispers. He knew, logically, that it was probably just his senses going out of whack because of all the new sensations and sights and sounds, if there were actually people whispering about him, he’d hear what they were saying, and surely he wasn’t the weirdest looking person wandering around the city that people would actually take time out to stare and talk nonsense about some random kid on the street.

The cold hurt his chest and throat every time he took a breath, it didn’t help that he was still in the midst of a panic attack and his breathing was still harsh, causing bellows of visible air with each breath out. He rubbed his arms as the cold finally started to seep in and clung hard to the material of Wade’s sweater as he walked.

‘Where am I even going?’ He thought solemnly as he stared out at the park across the road. He hadn’t really thought any of it through. He should have waited until he had a good plan and an actual place to go to and then he should have walked out. Then again he couldn’t really picture himself staying after all that had happened.

He felt kind of betrayed. He had told himself over and over again that Wade had his own life, that he would eventually move on and Peter would have to do the same but it still felt awful, he felt rejected and horribly lonely. The tightening in his chest just continued to get worse the more he thought about it.  
He dragged his feet slowly across the quiet street and towards the deserted park, the nature seemed to be drawing him in, seeming way less stressful than the bright and judgmentalness of the city behind him.

He kept his thoughts muted as he felt himself draw closer to the grass, almost as if he was floating there, past walking now, past thinking. He felt a weird sense of disappointment run through him when he eventually reached the grass and realised he wouldn’t actually be able to feel the grass as much as he had wanted to.

Despite his disappointment, he wouldn’t go as far as actually taking off his shoes. The cold was starting to get to him as the wind blew ice cold against his face. He didn’t want his toes to fall off, and he certainly didn’t trust that someone wouldn’t sneak up behind him and try to steal his shoes from him.

He wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed his hands up and down in order to create friction to keep warm. The longer he stood out in the cold, the more he thought he had overreacted. He blew out visible puffs of air as he began to wonder the park aimlessly, relishing in the quiet.

Eventually he came to a park bench and decided it may be a good idea to take a moment to regroup and figure out his next move. He sat down with a huff as his legs shook in protest at the cold. He rubbed his thumbs slowly across the material of the sweater, sighing at the texture beneath his fingers and focusing most of his attention on the action to calm himself further.

He wasn’t sure when the sweater had become such a comfort to him, but he guessed he was lucky to have figured that out, it was helpful when he had these types of moments, when he felt like he needed something physical to keep him grounded in reality or else he would just zone out forever.

He made a mental note to try to do it a little bit less though, the sweater was old as it was and he didn’t want to end up rubbing holes into it.

He allowed himself a few moments of mindlessness before he needed to panic over his situation again, sitting in silence and staring out over the park. Though his vision was slightly enhanced, he still battled to see anything other than dark shapes and spaces which was kind of eerie but he wasn’t going to allow anything else to get to him. He needed to stay as calm as possible for as long as possible.

He sat for a few more minutes before letting out a deep breath.

“Alright. Let’s...figure this out then.” He whispered to himself as he shoved his head into hands, running them through his thick hair and making it even wilder than usual. It hadn’t been cut in months and he was starting to look like a scruff. They had cut it haphazardly while he had been in the facility but that had only been a one time thing and it hadn’t seemed to have helped very much considering it was now down to his collar and almost past his nose if he were to straighten out the front pieces. Wade had joked about it a few times, saying how pretty Peter looked with his long hair every time the younger man refused Wade’s suggestion of going out and getting it cut if it was bugging him so much.

Peter smiled despite himself but the expression faded quickly. He didn’t want good memories of the other man at that moment. He wouldn’t call himself a petty person, but he was still human and he deserved to pout for as long he pleased, maybe it would even be therapeutic in the long run.

He blinked hard as his eyes started to sting from the lack of sleep. Or what felt like a lack of sleep anyway. He couldn’t really tell if he had slept or not before Wade had come home, if he ever did sleep he had nightmares or he’d wake up and it would be as if he had only closed his eyes for five seconds.

He moved his hands from his sweater and rubbed them lightly over the wood of the bench and staring at the space contemplatively. He could could just sleep for a little bit. He thought in a daze as he lowered himself onto the bench, bringing up his arm to rest his head on and tucking his knees up close to his chest in order to fight away the cold.

“Just five minutes” He whispered to himself as he shivered hard against the cold air that was suddenly blowing harder around him. Surprisingly, he felt safer out in the open than he had felt when he was alone in the apartment, whether that was because his mind was too focused on other things or just because closed off spaces were just no good anymore, he had no idea.

All he knew was that, despite the cold, despite the hollow feeling in his chest and the constant buzzing of thoughts in his brain, he felt tired enough that he may actually get a good nap in if he tried hard enough. He stared out at the line of trees cast in shadows in front of him, before his eyes drew closed.

 

* * *

 

Unfortunately it hadn’t even felt like all but five minutes before he was being prodded at by something hard on his shoulder, causing him to tense up and twitch aggressively as he tried to remember where he was and who could possibly be touching him.

“Young man, you can’t sleep here!”

He groaned at the hostile voice that was coming from above him, swatting at whatever was at his arm as he tried to sleep.

“You hooligans just think you can do whatever you want, well let me tell you that there is a police officer not twenty feet away and let me assure you I have no problem getting him over here!”

Peter felt like hissing at the old woman as he strained to open his eyes against the early morning sun beating down on him.  
Okay, so he had obviously napped a little longer than he had anticipated. He lifted his head and sucked in a sharp breath at the ache in his neck from lying in the position he had been for so long. That wasn’t going to be the greatest start to his day. Aside from the creak in his neck, he felt like crap, his eyes were crusty and still stung from lack of sleep and his joints were aching as he stretched his legs.

“Get a move on!” The old woman grumbled, poking him in the chest with what he could now see was her walking stick.

He felt irritation shoot through him and he grabbed at the walking stick, holding it still and glaring up at the women with hard eyes.

“Would you please stop that?” He grit out, releasing the stick before he ended up crushing it to splinters by accident.

He wasn’t sure what he looked like, or what the old woman had seen in the look he had given her, but it was enough to have her gaping at him like a fish as she steadily lowered her cain back to the ground.

He pulled himself into a sitting position and squinted his eyes against the sun to survey the park. He had to admit that he much rather preferred it at night. Right now it was full of joggers, yoga, screaming kids and excitable dogs. Okay so the excitable dogs part wasn’t bad, it was the rest that he could do without. The people. He hadn’t really been around too many for a while and he doubted he really looked too presentable.

“Young man.” The old woman scolded again, only this time her voice seemed a little more restrained, he was actually surprised to hear her say anything at all to him after the way she had gaped at him.

He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes at her. He really wasn’t in the mood. He wasn’t a morning person as it was and now he was having to deal with some persistent old woman that seemed to think she was park mayor or something and that she needed an entire bench all to herself.

“I’m going, I’m going, sheesh.” Peter mumbled, moving out of the way for the woman to sit down. “Ya know, you really don’t need a whole bench to yourself.”

The woman huffed and situated herself in the middle of the bench, placing her cane on the one side and her handbag on the other. “I’d prefer to not have anything mask the park smells.”

Peter whipped his around to gape at the woman. “Did-did you just insinuate that I _smell_?!”  
The woman paid him no attention though and carried on with her business, retrieving a large novel from her bag and opening it to the book marked spot.

Peter blushed bright red at the insinuation, not quite knowing what to do with himself besides stare at the woman in obvious shock.

‘Calm down Pete.’ He told himself. ‘The old biddy is just trying to get a rise out of you.’

He took a deep, calming breath in before he could say something he regretted. He was wasting time any way. He still hadn’t come up with a game plan, and fighting old ladies in the park was probably not going to make his day any better.

“I-I don't...smell.” Peter muttered petulantly as he began to walk away from her, not before throwing a very pointed look in her direction to make her understand his displeasure.

He never understood people that were just pointedly rude towards other people and not knowing if they were making the other person’s day worse. What if they were the last straw that person could handle that day?

Peter held his comments to himself though, it wasn’t worth it. He continued to walk through the park, mindful of the all the activity around him and trying not to draw any attention to himself or bump into anyone by mistake.

He felt incredibly awkward, like he didn’t know how to be outside anymore. Was he walking arlight? It felt like his walk was a bit off, he probably looked like he was limping or something. Was he holding eye contact with people for too long? Was the eye contact too short? Should he be looking at anyone at all?

The people he was passing probably thought he was on drugs with the way he was acting. He tried several times to speed up or slow down his walk or change the spacing of his steps to correct his walk and then decided not to give anyone eye contact at all and kept his gaze on the floor as he walked, which didn’t help much because he needed to at least know where he was going.

...Where was he going?

He suddenly felt as if he may look suspicious if he just stopped in the middle of nowhere and just looked around like he was lost. But he couldn’t just keep walking and hope that he might end up somewhere useful. He wondered briefly if there were any soup kitchens in the near vicinity. He’d never been to one, he’d never needed to, but then again he had never done any volunteering either. He was sort of kicking himself for that fact now though considering he was going to have to rely on people who had actually thought about others instead of themselves.

“You okay there man?”

Peter glanced up at a rather concerned looking man, realizing he had been standing in the middle of the walk way like a complete creeper, staring off into space. He sighed mournfully, that was exactly what he had been trying to avoid doing, especially in public.

“Uhm, yeah, yeah I'm good.” Peter attempted a smile, but he was almost certain it looked as strained as it felt because the man’s frown only deepened.

“Ya sure?” The man asked again, Peter could see he was trying to be polite and not be too pushy, but at the same time, he guessed it was social etiquette to ask the person if they are okay at least twice.

Peter huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I just-.”  
Peter stopped talking as his eyes came to focus on the newspaper the man had been holding, something had caught his eye, a name.

“Osborne.” Peter whispered, a strange feeling in his stomach as he remembered his best friend. Would they even still count as best friends? Peter had been gone so long…

“Hm?” The other man hummed, following Peters gaze. “Oh! Yeah, looks like they've come up with some new miracle drug, haven't really read the whole article yet but it's bound to be super expensive if it's coming from Oscorp.”

Peter only really caught half of what the other man was saying though. His eyes glued to the name as if it were some sort of small beacon of hope.

Harry was his best friend. Or used to be. Whatever. If anyone was going to be able to help Peter, was going to _want_ to help Peter, it was going to be Harry. They had been friends for years, all throughout high school, and their friendship had stayed strong through college too. He had to try.

“I'm sorry I have to go.” Peter mumbled out as he raced past the man in a daze.

He couldn't quite remember the way to Oscorp, or the street it was on. It was weird, there were really small, silly things that he couldn't seem to remember anymore. The layout of the city being one, and street names and some brand names. It was like when a word was on the tip of your tongue and you could see it, but you couldn't quite grasp it. It was utterly frustrating.

Luckily, Oscorp was humongous and was easily visible from the park, all Peter had to do was walked towards it. Simple.

 

* * *

 

Okay so it hasn't been as simple as Peter had hoped. What should have been a fifteen minute walk, maximum, had turned into two excruciating and frustrating hours, filled with awful loud noises, rude people and at least two mini panic attacks per hour. He was exhausted. He was _hungry_! Which was a revelation in itself because he hardly ever felt hungry these days!

He wiped a small bead of sweat from his brow on the sleeve of his sweater as he stared up at the glass walled building. It was supposedly winter but he was feeling like he was a thousand degrees and getting warmer by the minute.

He was also horribly nervous. What if… what if Harry didn't want to help him? What if he had just simply forgotten about Peter?  
He knew he may be acting a tad dramatic but after everything… it didn't seem too far a jump to assumed he'd been forgotten.

What if Harry wasn't even there? He had always spoken about going off to all those exotic places once he had fulfilled his father's wishes and gotten his business degree. Would Harry have gotten that by now? Peter snarled at his horrible concept of time.

He pulled in a deep breath, steadying himself before he ventured inside. The hardest part of it all was probably going to be making it to the front desk with the way he looked. There was no way he was going to be taken seriously. He had been judged on his clothing when he was still living his normal, college kid life, he knew for sure they weren't going to just overlook him now.

Peter strode across the street quickly, swallowing hard as he walked through the large glass doors of Oscorp, eyeing the men and women that were hurriedly pushing past him on their way to the office. There were even a few people in lab coats milling about and talking heatedly before also rushing away.

The sight had Peter feeling a stab of sadness. It was all he had ever wanted out of life, to be one of the people in those coats, to create “new miracle drugs” like they were doing at Oscorp. Although he had never specifically wanted to work for Oscorp. The company had always struck him as a bit sketchy, they had a tendency to throw out the moral handbook every now and again.

He felt incredibly out of place, even more so than he usually did. He picked at his hands as he walked through the large lobby, across the marble floor towards the reception desk, stretching out far and allowing him choice between three different receptionists.

All three of them looked pretty intimidating so he just went straight to the woman in the middle, praying over and over again that she would be understanding and at least just listen to him.

He stood in front of her for a few seconds trying to come up with a proper greeting, she wasn’t looking at him just yet but he didn’t want to sound like he was crapping his pants or like he was some bum off the street. Which he was, but he had some decorum hidden somewhere in him… he thought anyway.  
He cleared his throat. “Uhm…”

“Welcome to Oscorp Industries!” The woman greeted cheerfully, hesitating slightly as she turned her glance towards Peter. “How may I assist you today sir?”

“Oh, well, actually I was hoping I could maybe speak to Harry?” Peter mumbled out awkwardly, shifting his feet and debating running out. “Harry Osborne.” He clarified when she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Do you have an appointment?”

Peter’s eyes widened slightly. “Seriously?” He chuckled before he could catch himself, watching as the woman raised both eyebrows to study him. “Sorry, I just… can’t believe I have to make an appointment to see _Harry_.” He shook his head in disbelief, before straightening as he noticed the woman’s unimpressed expression.

“Uhm, sorry, no I don’t have an appointment, but we’ve been best friends since we were like ten.” Peter explained hurriedly.

“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t authorise a meeting without an appointment.”

“Alright…Can I make an appointment?”

The woman tapped aggressively at her keyboard, polite smile plastered on her face. “His next opening is in about two weeks.”

Peter spluttered. “Two weeks!? I-I can’t wait that long!”

The woman at least had enough sense not to keep the smile on her face when she replied. “I’m sorry sir, but Mr. Osborne is very busy.”

“Could you at least call him? Please”

“I’m sorry si-.”

“ _Please_!” Peter wasn’t above begging, Harry was the only person he could go to at the moment, he didn’t have a backup plan, he didn’t have anyone else he was willing to go to.

The woman gave Peter a long look, her eyes dragging up and down his frame, he felt a blush rise to his cheeks as a slight scowl moved across her face at his appearance.

  
“It’s really not company policy sir.”

Peter groaned and ran his hands hard over his face. “Please just-just call him, tell him Peter Parker is here to see him, I promise you it’s not going to be a problem, I really need to see him please!”

The woman was frowning now, she didn’t seem to like the fact that her authority on the matter was being questioned. “Like I said.” She responded sternly. “It’s not company policy.”

Peter felt tears sting his eyes, it was so frustrating! He was so close! He very nearly burst into tears before one of the other women spoke up.

“Oh for goodness sake Diane, let me do it!”

The woman who spoke, was clearly a fair bit older than the other two women and Peter would bet that she didn’t have greatest of relationships with ‘Diane’ as she began punching out numbers on her phone.

“Thank you!” Peter breathed out, moving over to the other woman’s side of the desk. “Thank you so much, you won’t get in trouble with him I promise.”

The woman snorted as she held the phone to her ear. “Sweety that young man has tried me before, believe me when I say I’m not worried about getting in trouble with him.”

Peter smirked at the response. Harry was a brat at the best of times, but if you managed to step up to him, you could land his silence and respect pretty damn quickly.

“Good Morning Mr. Osborne, it's Vanessa, I have a young gentleman looking for you at the front desk. Yes I do realise the time sir, I happen to have a very pretty little clock on my desk actually.”

Peter covered his mouth with his hand as he chuckled, noticing the other woman, ‘Diane’, rolling her eyes.

“Yes sir. Yes, alright, but he says he’s a very good friend of yours. Peter Parker sir.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Peter heard a muffled voice again.

Vanessa lifted her eyes and ran them over Peter. “Brown hair, brown eyes, very scruffy looking sir. Yes, about your age I’d say…Alright.”

Vanessa held out the receiver for Peter, waving it at him when he just continued to stare at it. “Well go on!” She hissed.

Peter scrambled for the phone, holding it up to his ear gently, his hands suddenly feeling very sweaty.

He listened to the static on the other end of the line for a few seconds before swallowing. “Harry?”

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end and a bit of light cursing before Harry answered. “Take the elevator to the top floor. I’ll meet you there.”

The phone clicked and then proceeded to beep sharply in Peter’s ear, causing him to flinch at the high pitched sound.

He handed the phone back, a confused look on his face as he looked around the lobby for the elevator. Harry’s abruptness had kind of left him in a state of shock.

“To your left sweety, the elevator closest to the big pot plant.” The woman behind the counter smiled gently, pointing towards the elevator.

“Ah, yeah thank you…”

“Vanessa.”

Peter gave the woman a large smile, he didn’t want to gush, but if she hadn’t been there, he would have probably been thrown out on his ass. “Thank you so much Vanessa.”

“No problem, you seem like you’re having a bad day as it is, no point in us making it worse.”  
She rolled her eyes over to Diane and Peter repressed a chuckle as he moved towards the elevator.

Once he was inside, he felt the nerves start to grow and his stomach start to twist, the businessmen in the elevator eyed Peter warily as he twisted his sweaty hands in the hem of his sweater, trying desperately to remind himself that he probably looked a bit weird, but no matter how much he reprimanded himself, he couldn’t stop himself.

The men got out a few floors after he had climbed on. From there he was on his own, the building seeming ridiculously high. He filled the time with nervous jittering and wonderment about what exactly was on the rest of the floors. His mind was filled with images of secret labs and new discoveries. He felt excitement fill him, maybe Harry would let Peter into some of the labs sometime?

The thought of walking back into a lab gave him a rush of emotions, excitement, fear...guilt. He couldn’t change the things he had done, he couldn’t use the excuse that he was too caught up in what they were doing, that it was for a good cause, because those facts didn’t matter, no one cared if it was for a good cause. It was wrong. He was wrong and he couldn’t change that.

Peter scrunched his eyes closed to try and block out all of the negative thoughts, they weren’t doing him any good, he knew that. But he couldn’t help think that maybe that was the real reason behind what happened with Wade...if that was the case, did Peter really have the right to feel slighted by the other man for everything?

The doors to the elevator opened with what felt like the world's loudest ‘Ding’ as Peter tried to get a handle on his emotions, tried to get his mind to obey him, to stop the thoughts, the guilt, the sadness, it frustrated him that he couldn’t control his own thoughts.

“Peter?”

Peter’s eyes flew open at the sound of his name, landing on his best friend standing across from him with a shell shocked expression on his face. He looked good, very professional in his pin striped suit and hair combed back neatly, he looked like his father.

“Holy shit Pete it’s really you.” Harry breathed out, his face contorting in sadness.

The look on his friends face, the sadness, had Peter whimpering as he rushed into Harry’s arms, clutching the other boy tightly, his fingers probably digging unsightly creases into the expensive suit, but neither seemed to care.

Peter shook as he cried, tears falling down his face in relief at seeing someone he knew, someone who cared for him. The feeling was almost overwhelming, as if somehow it wasn’t real and Harry was going to just disappear and Peter was going to wake alone on the park bench he had fallen asleep on earlier.

“Pete...Pete I thought you were dead, everyone thinks you died Pete, we-we found your parents and-.”

“Shh.” Peter shushed his friend as the other boy hiccuped and drew Peter in as close as possible, as if he too was scared it was only a dream. “I’m fine.” Peter sighed out against Harry’s shoulder, he wasn’t fine, that much was obvious and Harry would be able to gather that much just from the way Peter looked, but he was fine now. He was better than fine, he was so ecstatic, he couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him as he nuzzled his face into Harry’s neck.

“I’m fine.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks once again for reading guys you all make me very happy with your kudos and comments *hugs*


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap I hope this chapter is okay. Warning that I have not had time to read over it properly and it might sound all over the place but I'm really hoping it's not too bad!
> 
> ****Shout Out**** to ShipSeekingShippers who has been so super nice and sweet and who's fic "Limerence" has got me absolutely hooked! (O_O). Please go check it out guys :D.

Harry pulled Peter back and looked him up and down with tear stained eyes.

“Dude… you look like shit.”

Peter laughed as he attempted to rub the tears and snot from his face with the back of his hand, he really must have looked a state.

“Yeah well, you look like your father.”

Harry hissed and shook his head. “That’s cold man.”

They both laughed, Harry putting his arm around Peter’s shoulders and leading him into the giant office that looked out over the city below. There was way too much space than was necessary, but Peter guessed that it suited his friend just fine.

Harry released Peter’s shoulders and made a beeline for his desk phone. “You look like you’re going to eat the first piece of furniture you come across, what can I order for you?”

Peter blinked at the comment, staring down at himself with a frown. “It’s not that bad.” He grumbled. How would Harry even be able to tell when Peter had such large and loose fitting clothes on?

Harry snorted. “I can see it in your face.”

Peter moved his hands to his face and ran his fingers lightly across his cheeks, as if he could maybe feel all the ways in which he’d changed. He walked absentmindedly towards the window and stared at his reflection.

He had given up on mirrors a while back so he was a little bit taken back as he studied his own face. He looked… older, he guessed, but that could have easily been a result of a number of things. His face was thinner though, gaunt looking. He didn’t like the way he looked at all, it made him uncomfortable in a way he couldn’t quite explain, as if he had physical proof of how different he was now, how he had changed, and not in a good way.

“Pete, what happened?” Harry asked softly from his desk, watching the other boy as he stared at himself in the glass.

 

* * *

 

  
Peter explained everything to Harry. He didn’t go into incredible detail about the torture and everything he had gone through in the facility, but it was enough to give Harry a vague idea.

Harry had known most of what had been going on when Peter had been working with his dad and the other scientists. Technically, it was only an internship his father had organised for him whilst he was in college, but once the other had seen that Peter was capable of more than just your average intern, they had let him work on actual projects with his dad.

He had told Harry all the details while he was working, as best friends do, so Harry was pretty much caught up on the who was who of the whole situation.

“Francis?” Harry asked angrily, eyebrows raised. “That weirdo who fought with you guys about the serum? Didn’t he make his colleagues call him some sort of soap product or something?”

Peter couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he stuffed it full of the chicken Marsala pasta Harry had ordered him. It was damn good and made his stomach feel a comfortable warmth as he sank lower into the plush cushions of the sofa in Harry’s office. Not only had his friend ordered food, but he had sent someone out to get Peter a whole new set of clothes, despite Peter insisting that he was comfortable in the clothes he had on.

Eventually Peter had resigned himself to changing into the clean clothes, a pair of sweats that had been the only pair out of the numerous pairs of jeans and dress pants, and a short sleeved cotton shirt from a store he wasn’t rich enough to have heard of. He had put Wade’s sweater back on too, despite Harry’s grumbling over how old it looked.

“That’s him.” Peter replied with a smirk, mouth filled with food, making Harry scrunch up his nose.

“Dude, gross. Chew first you savage.”

Peter opened his mouth, giving Harry full view of the already chewed food, causing the other boy to groan and throw a pillow in his direction from where he was seated on a sofa opposite Peter. Peter easily dodged it with a light chuckle.

They sat in silence for awhile, the only sounds coming from Peter’s fork against the plate. The silence made Peter hyper aware of his friend staring at him, which caused him to have to forcefully keep his eyes on his plate and not side glance Harry like he wanted to.

“Your Aunt and Uncle were looking for you for a while.” Harry mentioned softly.

Peter tensed at the mention of his aunt and uncle. “I’m glad they stopped. Moved on.” Peter stated as casually as he possibly could. He hadn’t missed the past tense Harry had used, although it made his heart sink to know that his only family left had giving up looking, he felt that, that was the best thing they could have done. No matter how bad it made him feel, he still felt relieved.

“No Pete, uhm…” Harry sighed and moved across the room and dropped heavily onto the sofa next to Peter. He took the plate away and place it on the side table, ignoring the hurt puppy look Peter gave him.

“Pete, they didn’t really stop searching for you but, something happened, your Uncle Ben, Peter he- he passed away.”

Peter stared at Harry with large eyes, or rather, he stared through Harry. He had heard what the other boy had said, he had understood, but he couldn’t… feel anything. There was no shock, there was no sadness, there was nothing. That worried Peter. He had loved his uncle Ben, so much and they had always had a good times together, but in the moment, he couldn’t find it in himself to be mournful. At the most he was angry because he wasn’t mournful, he wasn’t anything but maybe slightly shocked.

“What happened?” Peter tried not to make eye contact with Harry, he felt ashamed at his lack of tears and didn’t want the other boy to think badly of him.

“He was mugged one night on his way home, refused to give up his wedding ring and the guy… shot him.” Peter could hear that Harry was trying to be gentle about breaking the news, but Peter knew his friend wasn’t the greatest with emotions and comforting others, they had always joked about it in the past.

“Did they catch him?”

“Yes.”

“I’m glad… Aunt May wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night if she had to sit up worrying about that person still running around.” Peter could at least feel sympathy for his aunt in that moment. She was a lovely woman, always kind, very sassy, which Peter enjoyed because it meant he had someone he could banter with without repercussions.

“Yeah, she seems to be doing a little bit better lately, it’s been a few months but she’s finally getting out of the house.”

Peter looked up at his friend with a knowing smile. “You’ve been visiting her.”

Harry rubbed at his eyes, he seemed to be a little bit tired too. “Yeah well, I figure she was pretty much my aunt too ya know?”

“Yeah I know.”

“You should-.”

“I can’t see her Harry.” Peter mumbled out, knowing exactly what his friend was going to say.

Harry sighed loudly. “Why the hell not? You guys are the only family you have left. Why would you want to leave her all alone? Why would _you_ want to be alone?”

Peter’s smirk was a self deprecating one. “ _Am_ I alone?”

“You know I don't mean it like that Pete.”

Peter chuckled, but it was an empty gesture, he had been left with a little less self confidence as of late and he tried not to place it on his friend but it came out that way anyway.

“I know… I just can’t go back to her, after everything, Wade, the guy I was staying with, and I had this suspicion that Francis is still alive, I can’t go back to Aunt May not knowing if he would come for me or not.”

“Yeah, I guess Pete.” Harry sighed out loudly again, it seemed to be a new thing he must have picked up from his father.

“I won’t… stay for long.” Peter mumbled self consciously, keeping firm eye contact with the food still in his lap. “I promise I’ll go out and find something, I-.”

“Pete stop being dramatic, you know you can stay until you’re an old fart with his ass hanging on the ground! It’s not like I don’t have the extra room man.” Harry glared at Peter as if challenging the other boy to argue.

“You know how I am Harry, I can’t accept this for too long, I am _promising_ you that I will not stay forever.”

“Dude yeah, whatever, I know you’ll eventually get around to doing your own thing.” Harry side glanced Peter and moved slowly off of the sofa with his hands behind his back. “Just, ya know, once you’ve finished college.”

Peter whipped his head up and gaped at his friend. “I- Harry I don’t have the mo-.”

“Yeah, yeah, you don’t have the money, whatever man, you know you’re more my father's kid than I am, he’ll pay for it and not even bat an eye at the cost.”

Peter slowly rose to his feet shaking his head. “Harry, no, you know I can’t accept that.”

“I’m not asking.” Harry frowned. “I already texted one of my receptionists to start asking around about getting you enrolled again.”

Peter continued to shake his head slowly, it wasn’t right, yeah Harry had all the money in the world, but Peter just wasn’t raised that way, the guilt of accepting such an offer would eat away at him every time he entered a lecture.

“Pete.” Harry said softly, walking towards the other boy and holding him by the shoulders, making sure that Peter was looking at him. “You’re family to me, I’m not going to let you go after everything that’s happened, and I’m not going to stand here while you decided that you don’t deserve to go to college and do what you’ve always talked about doing. I’m not having it, this is your future and we’re gonna fuckin’ make it happen okay?”

Peter’s eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing but the words never actually coming out. He felt like he was going to burst into tears, he felt so much for his friend in that moment that he couldn’t possibly express it.

“Gettin’ real deep here Harry.” Nice job Parker. Keeping it classy as usual.

“That’s what she said.” Harry deadpanned, causing the both of them to break out into fits of laughter.

Once they had managed to catch their breath, Harry lifted his hand and squeezed Peter’s shoulder. “How about this then, if the free education has you all in a twist. We’ll issue it as a bursary from the company, when you’re done studying you just intern for a year as part of the contract.”

That _did_ sound way better. Norman Osborne had always expressed how much he had wanted Peter to work for him one day, so it didn’t seem weird to have the bursary come from Oscorp itself, and by interning, Peter would sort of feel like he was making the money up. Oscorp wasn’t his favourite company and he had told Harry before that he would never work there… but under the circumstances…

“You’re not going to give this a rest are you?” Peter grumbled out, crossing his arms and pouting at Harry petulantly.

“Nope.” Harry answered back easily, wide smile splitting his face.

Peter raked his hands through his hair in exasperation, once Harry got an idea in his head he always followed through, Peter would never hear the end of it. “Fine.”

“Yes!” Harry hissed, punching the air and looking cocky as ever.

“ _But_.” Peter stressed, pointing his index finger at his friend. “I’m getting a job, I’ve gotta try and help out in some way.”

“Yeah, okay.” Harry snorted, as if the suggestion of a job was just silly.

“I mean it.” Peter stressed.”

“I heard you dude, cool, get a job.”

“Thank you.” Peter rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep the smile off of his face as he noticed the pleased one on Harry’s.

“Can I see your powers now?”

“Harry!”

“What?” Harry asked with wide eyes. “You got ‘em don’t you? That’s what the whole program was for! I gotta see this man!”

Harry was bouncing on his toes like a child on Christmas, the action was weird while Harry was still wearing his very expensive looking suit.

“If I show you, will you drop it?” Peter asked in a strained voice. He didn’t really want to show off his ‘powers’ especially considering that he hadn’t even wanted them in the first place, but he would have to do a lot of studying and investigating before he could figure out how to get rid of them.. he still owed Wade that too.

His stomach clenched as he thought of the other man, making him feel guilt he couldn’t place and sadness he just didn’t want to concentrate too long on to understand.

“Yeah, yeah, just show me please! Not everyday I get to see this mutant shit up close!”

“Mutate.” Peter corrected offhandedly, whilst sighing and backing up towards one of the walls. Wade had gotten a kick out of testing what Peter could do, watching him climb the walls was something that had actually managed to brighten up one of their days.

Peter placed his right hand high above his head on the wall and shucked off his shoes to get a better grip. It took almost no effort at all to pull himself up the smooth wall and towards the ceiling, moving to crawl upside down and drop his head to smile at the open mouthed Harry below him.

“No fuckin’ way.” Harry mumbled, eyes wide. “Dude… that’s- that’s creepy as hell actually, please get down.”   
Peter barked out a loud laugh before dropping himself back to the floor in front of his friend.

Harry continued to stare with wide eyes. “so what.. you’re like half fly now?”

“More spider than fly I think.” Peter tilted his head in contemplation.

“Okay… still creepy as hell, but okay, is that all?”

“I have enhanced senses and almost like an instinctual sense, it kinda warns me if something not so okay is happening.”

“Like a gut feeling?” Harry asked with a frown.

“Ah, yeah I guess something like that, but more like a tingle in my spine type thing.”

“So like you have the ‘willies’ or something?” Harry pressed

A laugh bubbled up through Peter and had him snorting. “The willies? how old are you?”

“Oh shut up, you still knew what I meant.”

“And super strength.” Peter added casually.

“You do not.” Harry said with a smile tugging at his lips.

Peter strolled past his friend towards the sofa. He placed one hand casually under the piece of furniture and lifted it with two fingers with ease, giggling as he watched Harry’s wide eyed expression.

“You’re a fucking superhero dude.” Harry whispered, stumbling towards Peter as the other boy lowered the couch.

Peter scowled at the insinuation. “No.”

“Uhm, _yeah_!” Harry said loudly, causing Peter to flinch as the raised pitch met his ears. “Dude, this is huge! You could literally be one of those guys we used to always read about. You could be like the friggen Avengers!”

“I’m not a hero Harry.” Peter sat back down on the sofa with a huff, the word ‘hero’ still flying around unwanted inside his head. He didn’t deserve that title, nor would he ever deserve such a title.

Harry plopped down next to him and leaned over to snag the plate of food that had been abandoned earlier, stuffing a huge forkful of the dish into his mouth, not even bothering to swallow first before he spoke again.

“Not _yet_.”

 

* * *

 

  
True to his word, Harry had helped Peter re-enroll in school, which had Peter both excited and still a tad guilty at the same time. Yeah sure he was gonna make it up with the internship, but it still felt a bit strange to have someone else provide so much for him.

Harry had gotten the go ahead as soon as he had spoken to his father, who was currently travelling, and had been travelling for the last few months, business scouting new locations for more labs and branches of Oscorp. He had apparently been overjoyed at the fact that Peter was alright and had not even had a second thought about allowing Peter a bursery through the company.

Besides doing all the admin for re-enrolling, Peter had also been apartment hunting. Harry had begged him to stay in one of the upper class apartments his father owned on the side but Peter had refused, the least he could was find somewhere a little cheaper to live, something that he could hopefully even start paying for on his own once he had gotten a job.

It would be weird staying on his own, he had never done it before. He had been living with his parents for his whole life, then the facility happened and he had Wade with him for most of that time, then he had stayed at the other man’s apartment… Well he had been alone for a lot of that time anyway but that wasn’t the point.

Now he was really going to be flying solo. He was starting to doubt his ability to do the independant adult thing. Okay so he wasn’t completely independant, what with Harry’s money and the other boy being way too interested in whatever Peter was doing at every moment of the day. He understood his friend was worried, he couldn’t blame him after everything, but he needed his space, which is also another reason for wanting an apartment on his own terms.

The last few days had been..weird. He had been so calm and just, normal, it was starting to worry him. And how sad was that? He acted normal and didn’t have a panic attack or get scared or have nightmares and that was so out of the ordinary lately that it had actually started to worry him!

Mostly it was a kind of numb feeling, it was odd and kind of uncomfortable, the same feeling he had gotten when Harry had mentioned Uncle Ben, and it just hadn’t stopped. It was getting eerie.

Peter was getting through despite it though. He was trying. He had been going out during the day, walking amongst actual human beings and he had even had a light conversation with a cashier without crawling up in a ball and protecting himself from the loud noises and bright lights.

He had a particularly good handle on his abilities lately though, it seemed the numb state was working to his advantage as he never stuck to anything and his senses weren’t as out of whack as they had been before.

Harry had still carried on about the whole superhero thing, going on and on about he could be Peter’s “behind the scenes guy”, apparently everyone loved that guy. Peter had rejected it at every turn… that was, until something kind of interesting had happened.

It had probably only been the second time Peter had decided to go for a walk around the city, he had needed to get his bearings straight again with regards to street names and places he had somehow all but forgotten.

Against his better judgement, he had decided that going at night was probably going to be a little better on his senses, despite the bright lights, it seemed as though people were a little calmer at night.

It didn't matter if there were less or the same amount of people at night, he just got a better atmosphere from the night crowd, it helped him relax a little bit more as he wandered the streets.

About fifteen minutes into his walk he started getting that creepy crawly feeling up and down his spine. It had him shivering and side glancing the people around him.

His breathing became more rapid as he tried to pinpoint whatever it was that was causing him distress, he needed to catch onto before it got too close.

It wasn't until he walked past a dimly lit alleyway that the protests caught his keen ears.

“Please stop, just- you can take my wallet just leave the necklace okay?”

“I fucking told you to hand everything over, now do it!”

Peter hid near the side of the wall and glanced around it into the alleyway. With the amount of noise pollution going, on it wasn't surprising that no one had heard them.

He saw a large man, dressed in all black and a ski mask pulled down over his face, holding a knife against the throat of what looked to be a young boy, maybe around Peter’s age, maybe a bit younger.

The boy was much smaller than the man holding the knife, it was anything but a fair fight and that much was obvious, but the young boy still refused to give the robber the necklace he had on, covering it desperately with his hands.

“Just give him the damn necklace.” Peter hissed lowly, his blood starting to pump loud in his ears as the robber start to push further forward with the knife.

He needed to do something, but he'd never even stuck up to his high school bullies, how the hell was he going to take on some huge guy with a knife!?

“Please, please, God, don't do this please!” The boy cried, hands still clenched tightly around the necklace.

“I'm going to count to three.” The robber growled out.

“Give it up!” Peter continued to hiss, his hands tightening on the edge of the wall, forcing small pieces to break off the corners.

“Please, it's all I have…” The boy whispered brokenly, Peter could tell even from where he was that he was crying now.

“One.”

“No, please!”

Peter’s eyes widened as his heart leapt into his throat, the man in the mask was not fooling around.

“Two.”

“I can't, I'm sorry, please, please don't do this, I'll give you anything else please!”

“Three.”

Peter was around the corner and screaming his protest as soon as the robber had counted down. “No!”

The cry came with his hand flying out towards the pair in a gesture for the robber to stop. There was a light “thwip” sound and then robber was grunting against something that had landed across his face, causing him to rear back and knock his head against the wall, falling unconscious in seconds.

Peter froze in place, dragging his eyes from the robber to his hands and then back to the robber, eyeing the stuff that had seemed to shoot itself from Peter's hand.

“Wha-what the hell is that!?” The boy that was being held up yelled, eyes blown just as wide as Peter's as he stared down at the man in the mask.

“I- I don't know…” Peter trailed off, trying to collect himself and bringing his hand back to investigate further.

He could just barely see a light mark on his wrist, surrounded by red, as if the skin was somehow agitated.

His mind finally started to catch up with him and he threw an annoyed glance towards to other boy. “What the hell man? He could have killed you! Why didn't you just give him the freakin’ necklace?!”

Peter knew it was wrong to yell at someone who had very nearly been robbed, but if Peter hadn't been there, this guy would have been killed, all over some silly piece of jewelry.

The boy, for his part, at least looked very sheepish, he must have known what he was doing at the time was stupid.   
“It's the only thing I have left of my mom.” He whispered brokenly, quickly wiping the falling tears from his face. “I haven't taken it off in about eight years and I don't plan on giving it up for anything.”

The boy squared his jaw and looked resolutely back at Peter as if waiting for a fight or for Peter to comment on how stupid that was.

But he didn't. The situation had hit too close to home and had left him feeling more respect than annoyance for the other boy. He couldn't say that he wouldn't have done the exact same thing if he were in the situation. He knew that's what Uncle Ben had done.

Peter sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes, already turning to leave. He was so tired already, he got drained so quickly nowadays he had started to worry about whether he was going to be able to keep up when he eventually started school again.

“Just… be careful next time.” Peter mumbled, turning his back to the boy and walking towards the alley entrance.

“Thank you.” The words had come out a little louder than a whisper from behind him, but the sincerity in them had Peter stopping in his tracks.

He had never really been much help to anyone, he was more the burden type than the rescuing type, so the words maybe meant more to him than he had expected.

No really knowing what to do or how to respond, he simply lifted his hand in the air and flashed the guy a peace sign over his back before walking away.

“You're so lame Parker.” He grumbled at himself, trying, but failing to keep the relieved smile off of his face as he sensed the other boy leaving the alley way safely behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kinda felt like Filler to me, but I promise it's not lol. I'm also sorry for not having Wade in another chapter, it's making me so antsy not having him in a chapter lately, but I need to establish a few more things before I can move on to his part (and then bring them together again) 
> 
> I hope this chapter was alright and thanks a million for reading guys! Please let me know if there are any mistakes or anything sounds weird!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter. It's a little short and that's mostly because I've had to split the chapter, which unfortunately has resulted in Wade not being in another chapter, which was not the intention and it makes me sad :(. BUT we shall persevere and I promise he will be in the next chapter and things actually start to get back on track :).

“Harry I need your help.” Peter said quickly as he strolled into Harry’s office. He had been given an access card to the building a few days ago, so he didn’t even need to pass by that woman at the reception desk, although of course he still greeted her along with the other two women at the desk. His mom taught him manners, even Diane never did really greet him back.

Harry looked up from the ipad in front of him with a bored expression. “As long as it’s better than the work I’m doin’ right now, shoot.”

“I want a suit.”

“Uhm, okay, so are you going to a party I somehow don’t know about?” Harry asked with a smirk, gently setting the ipad on the table.

“Not that kind of suit Harry, the suit you said you could get someone to make for me… discreetly.” 

Harry tilted his head to the side. “Ah… you’re talking about the super suit?”

“Yes.”

“Right.” Harry straightened up and looked Peter over with what seemed to be a somewhat worried expression. “You know I was just clowning around with all of that… I don’t  _ actually  _ think it’s a good idea for you to be going out and risking your life fighting crime and shit?”

“So you can’t make the suit?” Peter pressed

“Well- I mean, yeah I can make the suit but-.”

“Great, do you need whoever to come in and take my measurements? should I wait or come back later?”

“Pete-” 

“I’m thinking red and blue, maybe something relating to a spider, but I know you don’t really get blue and red spiders aren’t that common, but the colours would be like all American and stuff.” 

Somehow Peter’s mutation had taken a few notes from the arachnid world and he had actually landed up with a whole set of powers that related to spiders, the setules, senses, proportionate strength and as he had found out the previous day, webbing that shot out from his wrist!

That last part was actually kinda gross at first, but he had spent the whole night messing around with it and had decided it was pretty much the coolest thing ever. 

“ _ Peter! _ ” 

Peter whipped his head towards his friend, who was starting to look a little bit more exasperated than he had already been before Peter came through his door.

Harry watched and waited to see if Peter was done speaking before he continued. “Why do you want to do this all of a sudden?”

“Well, I might as well use the powers while I still got em’.” Peter shrugged, it seemed a shame for them to go to waste. “It’s going to take a while before I can even begin trying to reverse what Francis did, so why not use them for something other than what he had planned?”

Harry regarded Peter with a neutral expression. “Is this about that kid you saved yesterday?” 

“Well, that was a deciding factor, but no it’s not all about that.”

Harry picked up his pen and began to chew on it, contemplating his next words. “Look Pete, uhm, I was thinking, my dad has this really awesome dude on call that he sees every once in while, I actually go to the same guy about once every two weeks or so, he comes highly recommended…”

Peter bristled at the tone Harry was taking with him. He knew exactly where this conversation was going and it was the last thing he felt like listening to.

“Are you trying to get me to see a shrink Har?” Peter asked with a neutral expression, but his voice must have conveyed a completely different story because Harry had started to fidget nervously.

“It’s not a bad idea Pete. After everything you've gone through, I know you, you bottle shit up, I  _ know  _ you've been bottling shit up, you're acting… weird.” Harry said the last part carefully, obviously not all too happy with his choice of words but also not entirely sure how else to say what he meant.

“You need to tell someone Pete, I know there's still stuff you haven't told me and I know I can't force you to talk to me but at least talk to someone or else you're gonna end up doing something stupid.” Harry’s look was pointed on that last part.

“You mean like wanting to save people?” Peter clarified what his friend was obviously too scared to say.

“Playing superhero.” Harry shot back. 

Peter only felt slight annoyance for his friend, he knew Harry was just trying to help and if he didn't desperately  _ need _ the other boys help then maybe he would have walked away. 

“I'm not trying to play at anything Harry.” Peter sighed loudly, walking over to the desk and sitting in the guest chairs opposite his friend.

“It’s just… as soon as I had the thought, it felt right somehow. Like I could actually do this ridiculous thing we used to joke about when we were kids.”

“I don't feel like I've done much good Har, actually it's pretty much the exact opposite and it's all so wrong and I don't how to fix it soon enough! This- this feels like the only way, I have a chance to make something good out of the bad I helped create-.”

“What Francis did wasn't your intention Pete-.”

“I know that!” Peter cut Harry off with wide eyes, the words came out a bit harsher than he had anticipated, he lowered his eyes as an embarrassed blush creeped into his cheeks at his own outburst.

“I- I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I still messed with something I shouldn't have been messing with. I need to accept that and I need to do something about it, I won't live with myself if I don't.”

Harry didn't respond right away, instead he scanned Peter's face as if searching for something he had maybe missed the first time the other boy had walked through the elevator doors.

Peter wasn't sure if Harry had found what he was looking for but eventually he let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples as he spoke. 

“If you die doing this I swear to God I'll find a way to resurrect you just to kill you again myself.”

Peter's face lit up like a child on Christmas Day. “I'll be fine Har, I promise I'm going to do this right.” 

Harry just shook his head, fingers still pressed hard against his temples. 

“Parker how do you always manage to get me to do stupid shit for you.”

 

* * *

 

 

It had been a good few weeks since the suit discussion, Harry had promised that anything worth while would take time, although they had played around with different colour schemes and designs with Harry's “guy”. Harry wouldn't mention any names and he assured Peter that the gesture would be mutual. Peter just hoped that with someone else working on it, he’d still be satisfied with the end result. He was definitely more the “It’s better if I do it myself.” type, but unfortunately the situation didn’t really give peter that option.

He had managed to start school in the time it had taken for the first sample plans to come through. He still hadn't been sleeping too well and the stress had just added to his already restless mind, making it a bit harder for him to concentrate during his first few classes.

He had enjoyed them none the less, it was good to be able to get back to his studies. Besides working towards a career that he had always wanted, he was also working towards finding a cure to what had been done to him and Wade. 

He thought about the other man almost constantly now too. The thoughts were intrusive and he wished he had enough control over his own mind to banish any mentions of Wade Wilson. 

But despite everything, despite not really wanting to think about the other man all the time, Peter somehow still considered Wade a friend or considered that he  _ was  _ a friend, something maybe even more than that. Logic argues that going through a deep tragedy with another person could only lead to two possible outcomes: either it would tear the two apart, or the relationship would be stronger than ever.

Now obviously it wasn't the latter for Peter and Wade considering they had parted ways, but Peter couldn't deny that he felt for Wade like he'd never felt for another person. It wasn't that the feelings were stronger, they were just  _ different. _

Despite Peter’s mind fuzz on the subject that was Wade Wilson and his lack of sleep and proper brain function, he had actually been doing fairly well at school, he had even managed to talk to a few people here and there. One of those people being a girl he had had a long time crush on during high school, Mary Jane. They weren’t studying the same thing though, Mary Jane was studying performing arts on a different Campus but she had a friend in one of Peter’s classes and regularly made trips to the campus to visit her.

Peter would argue that he was not as awkward and antisocial as he seemed, actually he could be pretty chatty once he got to know someone, but he didn’t really know Mary Jane, she was just someone he had kind of admired from afar during his high school years. 

So when he actually did manage to say something to her before one of his classes, it was no surprise that the conversation had been filled with stuttered babbling and a head to toe blush that made him want to murder himself. 

Mary Jane however, seemed totally fine with Peter’s embarrassing conversational skills and had even laughed at all of his lame jokes, which was probably the most surprising part of it all. Wade had always laughed at Peter’s jokes, but that was when Peter had actually been funny. He didn’t know why but he didn’t see himself like that anymore and even Harry had been judging his sense of humour lately.

Eventually, after a few weeks of scattered chatter and conversations, the two had gone on their first date. Harry had been quick to ridicule Peter on the subject but Peter could never get embarrassed about the prospect of liking Mary Jane because as far as he could tell, he didn’t like her like  _ that.  _ Not yet anyway.

She was an incredibly comforting person to be around, he never felt anxious or like he needed to please or impress her in any way, she was patient with him even when he had brain stalls and he couldn’t get his mind to function properly, trying to remember what he had been saying or remember the details of a story he was trying to tell, it happened way too often and the fact that Mary Jane never once got impatient with him was one of the biggest sighs of relief he’d had in awhile. 

Eventually though, after the few weeks of being semi normal and organising his new college life, complete with new apartment in a not to horrible part of town that he’s almost sure he could be able to afford with even a low paying job, Peter got the long awaited call from Harry.

“It’s here.”

 

* * *

  
  


Peter’s hands had been sweating all the way up to Harry’s apartment. He had insisted that they try it out there instead of the office just in case someone saw something they weren’t supposed to and it got linked back to the company. 

Of course Harry’s apartment was basically the exact opposite of anything Peter would ever own. It was open plan, the large living area surrounded by wall to ceiling windows just like his office, the furniture was a light grey, looking like the whole setup was straight out of a minimalistic style magazine. 

The kitchen was huge and overlooked the living area over granite counter tops and stainless steel utensils that looked as if they had never been used. Which was probably the case considering Peter had never known his friend to cook anyway.

Peter hadn’t seen the bedrooms yet but he assumed they were just as swanky as the rest of the place. Probably adorned with bed sheets he’d be too afraid to sit on or touch lest he somehow ruin them.

Harry had given Peter a key to the apartment too. Which made Peter feel… safer, he guessed. It had only been given to him after he had called Harry at past two in the morning because he had had a nightmare and didn’t like the quiet of his own apartment. 

He didn’t have any money to buy a tv so that he could at least fall asleep to the soft lighting and sounds in the background and having the radio on but no light to accompany the noise made him uneasy. 

So to fix the issue, Harry had given Peter the option to call at any time of night, or if he felt like that was not enough, he was allowed to go to Harry’s place. Sometimes his friend had not been there, more than not he was out at some club or party which Peter didn’t care much for, thinking the atmosphere would probably not be too great on his senses, but that was alright.

Just being in a place that actually felt sort of lived in, where he knew someone he cared about would be at some point, made him feel tons better.

“Holy shit it took you long enough!” 

Peter rolled his gaze away from the neutrality that was the living area and watched Harry bound over to him with an all too excited look on his.

“Nearly took it for a spin myself waiting around here!”

“You tried it on didn’t you?”

“Like as soon as I closed the door on the delivery guy, yeah.” Harry beamed, the confession only made Peter chuckle as he gestured for Harry to lead the way. 

“Okay well let’s see this bad boy.”

“No, no, you wanna be a superhero, so technically you’re a  _ good boy _ .” Harry said the last part in a mock baby voice and pinched Peter’s cheek, causing the other boy to unfortunately cringe and get annoyed rather than take the joke in stride. He really needed to get his sense of humour back.    

Harry lead Peter into the lounge and sat him down on the sofa. 

“I’ll bring it.” Harry said before rushing into the other room, whilst simultaneously directing a small remote to the windows, resulting in blackout curtains drawing closed over the windows and low light switching on overhead.

Well he guessed Harry didn’t half ass his privacy.

It took less than thirty seconds for Harry to strut back into the room with a garment back, laying it lightly over Peter’s lap with an excited expression plastered on his face. 

Peter shook his head at his friend, this moment was supposed to be  _ his  _ exciting moment and here Harry was acting like a total dweeb. He had a good friend. 

Peter’s hands were still sweaty as he unzipped the garment bag slowly and moved the flaps to reveal the red material inside. A smile broke out on his face as he ran his hands over the webbing design he and Harry had agreed on, the spider symbol sitting perfectly in the middle of the chest area. 

It had been hard to convince Harry to go with something relating to spiders when the other boy wouldn’t shut about how creepy it would be, but eventually Peter had managed to convince him. 

“Harry… this is probably the coolest thing ever.” Peter breathed out, dragging the suit out of the garment bag completely and standing up to press it against his body to get a better view.

“Right?! And don’t worry, my guy is a professional, he won’t mention a thing to anyone.”

“Good to know.” Peter mumbled, still staring at the lines of the suit. 

"Well try it on!” Harry yelled at him, bringing Peter out of his day dreams.

“Yeah, yeah sorry, going!” 

“Just do it here, you’ll stall if I let you out of my sight!”

Peter huffed and began shucking off his shoes and jeans. “Whatever.” 

He brought the suit up over legs and underwear, feeling the material cling to him as he tried to slide it further up his body, removing his shirt as he brought it up to his waist.

Once he had gotten his arms through, he noticed something that may be a problem in the future. “Ah, Har am I gonna have to come over here and ask you to zip me up every time I gotta wear this thing?”

Harry rolled his eyes and reached into the bag. “No you idiot, it comes with a little hook thingy that you use to drag the zipper up. duh.”

Peter scowled at the other boy. “Don’t say it like it’s the most obvious thing the world.”

“It really is.”

“Where’s the mask ?” Peter interrupted haughtily after Harry dragged the zipper up behind him, the suit fitting snug around the top of his neck.

Harry bent down and began searching through the bag, it looked like the mask had fallen to one of the corners so Peter hadn’t noticed it before. Harry stared down at the mask with fascination opening it up gently and placing it in Peter’s now gloved hands.

“Okay, so it’s got the lenses we talked about. They’re some kind of special plastic with a mirror coating? I dunno, I wasn’t really listening when he explained. I just know they’re cool and are pretty much like sunglasses so if you’re gonna be doing your web swinging thing, you won’t get hit with the sun reflecting from the buildings and whatnot. Once again, I wasn’t actually listening when he explained.”

Peter, for the most part, ignored Harry’s babbling. It didn’t really matter in that moment what the lenses were made out of. He rolled the mask in his hands and rubbed his thumb along the fabric, almost in the same way he did with Wade’s old sweater.

He saw his own reflection in the lenses, still the same tired, nervous expression he had been walking around with for the past few months now, but that didn’t matter either, because no one was going to see that expression when he wore the mask, no one was going to be able to read his pain like an open book and give him pitying looks that made him feel broken.

It was that feeling you get when you go to a new school or start a new year, it was the feeling of being able to start over again, to be anything but what he was now.

Peter curled his fingers around the edge of the mask and opened it wide enough to fit over his head. His hands were trembling with excitement and earnestness, Peter absently noticed a similar look on Harry’s face. The thought of wearing a mask really shouldn’t have been that appealing to Peter, but deep down he guessed his inner child was doing somersaults at the prospect.

The moment was short lived however as soon as Peter brought the mask down over his face. 

The material clung almost tightly to Peter’s face, the lenses, he hadn’t noticed before, had some or other material behind them, which Peter assumed was used while the suit was being transferred so that the lenses wouldn’t get damaged along the way. This resulted in Peter’s vision being blocked out as soon as he had brought the mask down securely on his face. 

The sightlessness mixed with the material clinging to his face had Peter jolting, his muscles tensing up and his breath almost felt like it was kicked out of him as he gasped, his hands moving quickly to the base of the mask to try and rip it off. 

His hands shook almost violently, slipping from the hem of the mask every time he tried to get a hold of it to pull it off, only causing Peter more panic. It was too familiar, he could literally hear the voices above his head as he struggled for breath.

_ “Again.” _

The words echoed around in his head as he dropped to his knees, all thought of being able to rip the mask off, forgotten. He couldn’t breathe, they weren’t letting him breathe, they were going to kill him.

“Pete, Pete calm down.”

His body was shaking violently and he could feel tears in his eyes. He wanted to be stronger, he wanted to show them that they couldn’t get to him, that he would survive, he had to survive. 

Hands grabbed at Peter’s shoulders, making him cringe at the contact, he needed help, someone needed to help him.

  
"Wade.” Peter whispered out desperately. He would help him, Wade would save him, just like he had done before when Peter wasn’t able to save himself. “Wade please.”

He was momentarily distracted from his pleas as the material was ripped from his face, low light and blurry images moving in front of his face as he stared upwards through his tears. 

There was a figure moving in front of him, blonde, male. “Wade?”

“No Pete.” 

Peter whimpered at his Harry’s voice, pushing his face down into friend’s shoulder. He was relieved to find himself safe and back where he should have been, but he also felt a sinking disappointment at not opening his eyes to see the person he had expected. 

He hadn’t cried over the other man in such a long time. It felt like a huge step back when the suit was supposed to be at least a small step forward. 

“What happened Pete?” Harry whispered, moving his hand gently up and down Peter’s back as his friend cried.

“S-sorry Har, just, uhm, I-I just need some time that’s all.” Peter grit out through clenched teeth, damn he hated crying like that in front of Harry.

Harry stilled, as if contemplating Peter’s answer. “If-if it was the mask, we can always change it if it’s… uncomfortable. Like a half mask like that Daredevil dude! Or maybe something like Zorro or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!”

Peter looked up at Harry with a playful scowl on his face. “I am  _ not  _ wearing a Zorro mask.”

“Awh come, you loved him when we were kids!” Harry laughed in response to Peter’s offended yet amused expression. 

“Until I got older and realised I could not swing around New York in a Zorro costume. it’s lame”

“You’re lame.” Harry shot back, causing the both of them to start laughing again.

“Seriously though Pete.” Harry said softer after the laughter had stopped. “You don’t  _ have to  _ do all this.”

Peter smiled against Harry’s chest, feeling guilty about how he’d soaked his shirt with all his tears. “I’m not going to give up just because there was a tiny… set back-.”

“If tiny set back translates to ‘Major panic attack.’” 

“I need to get over it Har. I need to push through it all somehow, This is a start.” Peter mumbled petulantly in response.

Harry huffed and brought Peter away from his chest so look his friend in the eyes.

“You’re gonna be one of those super selfless superheroes that nearly gets themselves killed on regular basis because it’s ‘the right thing to do.’ aren’t you?”

“Is there any other way to do it?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support guys! it's really appreciated and you all make me so happy :P


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO!

**Well it’s about fucking time** _._

 

_Honestly_

 

**It’s been like the Peter fucking Parker show up in here for the past few weeks.**

 

_Thought you’d be happy about that_

 

**Well, I mean, yeah but there’s a limit man. Yellow gotta get some lovin’ too sometimes you know?**

 

_You are such an attention whore._

 

 **You wanna fuckin’ go bro?**  


Wade didn’t even take part in this new conversation. It was pointless, they didn’t need his input anyway, he did hope that Yellow calmed down though, the last time the two voices got into a scuffle he had been sitting with the world’s biggest fucking migraine for at least two days.

Inconsiderate assholes.

 

**Well well, look who the hell is talking!**

 

_Gotta admit this is definitely a pot meets kettle kinda situation._

 

“I’m perfectly considerate thank you very much.” Wade hummed out, flipping through channels looking for the news station and scratching absentmindedly at the mask that was rolled up to his nose, allowing him access to the mountain of taco’s he had just acquired.

 

_So ‘stealing’ is apparently called ‘acquiring’ now_

 

**Take notes kids!**

 

Wade wasn’t going to let the voices get to him today, he had by passed some news on the street after his latest mission and yes he may not have exactly paid for the food he was currently scarfing down, but he’d find a way to get the money back. Maybe. Depending on how lazy he got, he might not but it was the guilty thought that counted right?

Anyway, as he was saying, he had come across some interesting chatter and had gotten home as quickly as he could manage and started skipping through channels trying to find what he assumed would have to be on the news.

 

**Look at us go, watching the news and shit!**

 

“I know right! I can feel my morality and sense of justice grow by the second watching all the wrong going on in the world.”

Wade and the boxes snickered.

 

_Could you imagine? YOU with a conscience?_

 

“Standin’ up for the little guy!”

 

_Saving people, hunting things-_

 

“I will fucking shoot you if you finish that sentence.”

 

***Shivers* Think of something else quickly, you guys are creepin’ me out with all the morality talk.**

 

“Taco’s?”

 

_The failing economy?_

 

“How we haven’t watched the Powerpuff Girls reboot out of fear of it being bad?”

 

_There’s also a Samurai Jack reboot_

 

“No shit!?”

 

**Well that definitely made me feel better.**

 

_That was not a kids show_

 

Wade snorted. “None of them are fuckin’ kids shows. I’m pretty sure Yellow is a direct result of watching that robot from Invader Zim too much.”

 

**I’m gonna take that as a compliment. GIR is fucking adorable.**

 

_There was nothing adorable about that show. Especially not the psychotic screaming robot._

 

“I somehow feel like we got off topic.” Wade tilted his head in thought.

 

 **What were we talkin’ about?** ****  


_The news._

 

Wade slammed his hand on the table, a smile spreading across his face as he found the right channel. “THE NEWS!”

The typical news themed music played as the logos and top stories flashed across the screen, making Wade sit up excitedly on the edge of his seat to stare at the t.v.

“Reports are pouring in from throughout the city today, people claiming to have witnessed a masked vigilante-.”

“Wade!?”

Wade groaned as his viewing pleasure was interrupted by the high pitched voice calling his name from the other side of the apartment door.

 

**Ah, how the fuck did she know where we lived!?**

 

Wade didn’t answer as he waited for Vanessa to get to him after she had unlocked the door hastily, he was still trying to concentrate on the news but he couldn’t hear anything over her yelling and the boxes not shutting the hell up. All very normal and familiar.

 

**Ah, HOW THE FUCK DOES SHE HAVE A KEY!?**

 

_Because the sappy loser douchebag over here left her one. Probably felt all lonely and self pitying as usual._

 

“Shut up, I didn’t think she would actually _use_ the damn thing!”

“Talking to yourself again Wilson?”

Wade slowly lifted his head to smirk at the woman glaring down at him with crossed arms.

“Well hey there kitty cat! Well no, not myself, but the boxes. Obviously. But you know this. So it’s weird that you’d still say it like that. Anyway, I forgot I gave you a key, I’m kinda regretting it right now considering you just burst into my pad uninvited and whatnot. I accept verbal apologies but cash and blowjobs are fine too.”

“Mmm, if you’re that lonely, why don’t you just get one of you ‘boxes’ to blow you?”

Wade’s mind skidded to a halt.

 

_That’s just gross._

 

***screaming* I pictured it before i could stop myself. IT BURNS!!!!!**

 

“Agreed. That’s fuckin’ nasty cat. Also, kinda impossible, unless you’re talking about some A grade hallucination material then yeah that’s still fucking gross. I’m not sure you understand the relationship dynamic here.

 

_We hate him_

 

**Understatement.**

 

“Right.” Waded nodded, smiling at Vanessa as if she too had been apart of the conversation and had also heard them.

“Okay, this is not why I came here.” Vanessa sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples, eyes closed.

She used to be a lot more fun, Wade thought solemnly to himself.

“Did you kill Connelly?” Vanessa asked with eyes still closed.

Wade tilted his head innocently, still trying to catch glimpses of the news but he’d obviously missed what he was looking for because they were talking about some earth quake half way around the world.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening, could you repeat that please?”

Vanessa’s eyes opened, cold and without a single shred of patience she had used to offer to him when they had first started all of this.

“Did you ghost _my fucking target_ Wade?” Vanessa growled out, moving across the room and grabbing Wade by his suit, easily lifting him off of the sofa.

“Mmm, whatcha gonna do kitty?” Wade purred mockingly at the angry woman. “Go for the sweet spot?”

 

**Fuck I love that movie. Vin Diesel can go for my sweet spot any time.**

 

_You’re disgusting._

“I waited months for that hit Wade! He was worth millions!” Vanessa continued to growl. “And don’t call me that!”

“What? Kitty? But that’s your name!” Wade exclaimed excitedly, still trying to extend his attention towards the news. They were eventually going to loop back around to the story he was looking for and he was going to be ready for it.

“No, Wade, we’re not together anymore, no more nicknames, no more antics, just business, it’s Carlysle or CopyCat, your choice but cute nickname rights were abolished when we were.”

Wade groaned and struggled in the woman's grasp, she was starting to pinch a little bit of skin and as excited as he would usually be for that, right now it was mostly just _OOOW!?_

“But your super name is so _boring.”_ Wade groaned absently, his head towards the tv, hearing the news anchors repeat what they had repeated earlier on when Wade had switched the tv on. The vigilante.

“ _Wade!_ ” Vanessa growled, her hand slowly moving up into a striking position before Wade lifted his hands in surrender.

“ _Wait_!” Wade yelled, shoving Vanessa’s face back and away from him as he stared at the tv, pointing frantically, trying to draw her attention so she wouldn’t knock him out before he got a chance to see it. “looklooklooklooklooklooklook!”

Vanessa reluctantly dragged her eyes away from Wade and towards the tv. They both went quiet as they watched.

“The newest vigilante, apparently calling himself ‘Spiderman’ has been seen high above the city on many an occasion over the past few days and has even helped the police apprehend low to middle ranking mobsters within the past few hours, among other petty criminals.”

Wade buzzed with excitement as he watched the amature footage of the newest super flying through the air on what seemed to be rope, but was confirmed to be spider webbing the longer he listened

 

**Well that’s just fucking creepy.**

 

“Shhhhhh!” Wade hissed at yellow. Vanessa had flinched at first at the sudden outburst but when she realised Wade wasn’t talking to her she rolled her eyes.

A breaking news panel slipped onto the screen before fading away and revealing a very excited looking news anchor. “Just in, we are getting word from one of our correspondents on the ground that Spiderman has agreed to release a statement. Sean?”

Wade watched as the scene flipped and revealed what he assumed to be a man in his late thirties smiling excitedly in front of the camera.

“Thanks Laura. Well I’m here today with none other than the newest super member to the city; Spiderman!”

The camera panned shortly to ‘Sean's’ left, revealing a rather awkward looking vigilante. Wade’s breath caught in his throat, the suit was so fucking cool.

“Spiderman, it’s an absolute honour to be standing with you today.”

“Ah, th-hanks Sean.” Spiderman answered even more awkwardly.

Wade sucked in a sharp breath at the voice, silently begging for Sean to stop talking and let the vigilante talk some more as soon as possible. He had heard rumours about a new ‘superhero’ roaming through the city. Some of the descriptions had seemed somewhat familiar to Wade, the snark, the abilities, all he needed was the voice and he would know.

“So as we’ve been witnessing throughout the past few days, you’ve been a really big help to the police, although some have been labeling you a ‘menace to society’, care to comment on that?”

Spiderman man chuckled, the sound was nervous and unsure, it made Wade’s whole body tense with familiarity at the sound.

“Well, we all know that Jameson’s opinions are very rarely followed up by proof.” Spiderman snarked back with a little bit more confidence than he had had earlier, quickly pointing out the guilty party behind the ‘menace’ allegations, causing the people around him to chuckle.

“But I’m here to help. There’s a lot of messed up stuff going on in this city, in this world, and I’m just trying to make it a little bit better, to make sure horrible things don’t happen to good people.”

Wade’s chest seemed to do something at that point, like a little flutter or a little stall, it was a little _something_ and he wasn’t entirely sure what the fuck it was but he didn’t like it. He didn’t do the whole feelings thing anymore. Nope it wasn’t cool.

 

_Totally 2007_

 

“I’m sure that’s going to be music to a lot of people’s ears in this city. It’s an absolute pleasure meeting you Spiderman, and I just want to mention the suit, it’s awesome.”

There was a chorus of laughter around them as the news correspondent had his fangirl moment. Spiderman could be heard giving a light chuckle of his own before shuffling awkwardly on his feet and gesturing towards Sean.

“Ah, haha, thank you, I ah, like your… tie?” Spiderman stuttered out, obviously not knowing how else to respond.

Wade barked a loud laugh as the scene returned to the studio.”Hah! You fucking adorable little nerd you!”

Wade was still chuckling as he felt Vanessa’s hands tighten their grip on his suit. “Th-that’s the twerp that lost our guys some of their biggest contracts!” Vanessa spat out at the tv, eyes shifting suspiciously towards the man in her grasp.

“Do you _know_ him?!” She bit out, eyes narrowing as she studied Wade, the man still giggling at what he had just witnessed.

 

_Do we know him she asks!_

 

***Loud Shrieking***

 

Wade was barely containing himself. Did he know him!? _Did he know him?_

 

***Sobbing* We’d know that beautiful voice anywhere!**

 

_Not this again_

 

**YOU STAY OUT OF IT!**

 

Wade was definitely fucking crazy and after recent events over the past few months, it had grown especially bad. But there was no way in hell he’d forget that voice. He’d listened to that voice day in and day out for so long, he would never be able to forget it.

“Nope. Not a fuckin’ clue.” Wade giggled, turning his manic gaze back towards Vanessa. “Just a big fan of the outfit.”

 

_Do you think he copied us? It looks like he copied us_

 

**Nope. Nope, that my beautiful brain mates is called fate.**

 

_You’re honestly a fucking embarrassment sometimes._

 

**Why? because I believe in a cosmic anomaly that results in the bringing together of two lost souls in this horrible expanse of a Universe?**

 

“What the fuck dude?”

 

_Yeah but you never want to listen when I suggest we kick ‘em out so this is your fault big guy_

 

“Fucks sake.” Wade groaned loudly, only half aware that Vanessa - sorry _Copycat_ \- was still holding him by the front of his suit and eyeing him with the same irritated look she always seemed to be giving him lately.

“And I told _you_ that we can't fucking kick him out, believe me if I could you would have both been gone before the untimely and heartbreaking ending of Firefly.”

 

**That show was cancelled like fourteen years ago**

 

“So you get my point.”

“Wade!”

Wade reluctantly looked back to the woman in front of him.

Damn she did not look happy. Pretty pissed off actually. It was probably because he killed Connolley, but the guy was worth a butt load of money so he didn't really give a shit if she got mad or not.

If he were honest with himself - which he rarely was- this was about the best moment he had spent with Vanessa in weeks, and that was only because he was happy about something that had absolutely nothing to do with her. It was outside influence spilling over and somehow making this meeting a little more bearable.

He won't act like it wasn't good for a while. It had been really fucking good actually. It was basically non stop sex and bad jokes twenty four seven.

At first, he was kind of using her a little. He's big enough to admit that what had happened with Peter had kind of left something with him, or taken something away. He wasn't too sure, probably because he hadn't allowed himself time to think about it. About his feelings for the other man.

 

**Gaaaaaaaaaaaay!**

 

_Ah yeah. That is pretty much the correct term._

 

After his little break down at the top of the stairwell, he had decided to shove as much as possible as deep down as possible and try to move on. That was the Wade Wilson way, that was the only thing he could do to make what he did to the other man make sense.

He still wasn’t able to get the look on Peter’s face out of his mind though. Those puppy dog eyes were obviously immune to his repressive emotional powers. So he’d dream about them every now and again, and maybe see them in front of him when he knew it wasn’t really possible for them to be there.

Vanessa had helped, maybe not quite in the way he needed though, especially now that he was considered full on batshit crazy instead of just weird and slightly annoying.

 

_Slightly?_

 

When he had eventually gone back to her place (after more than a day of very loud sobbing and guilt tripping) he had been so drained, he hadn’t even felt himself move when he had walked to her place. He assumed he had walked anyway, he could have taken a cab, maybe, he just doesn’t remember.

The only thing he did remember was climbing into Vanessa’s bed at about dusk the next day, it was really cold in the room before she had crawled in with him, hugging him from behind and whispering calming words in his ear.

The moment had only served to make Wade feel even more guilty though, silently thinking about where Peter could have ended up, if he was safe, if he was warm… he could feel silent tears running down his face at the thought of Peter freezing out in the open but he couldn’t force himself to get up to go look for the other man, he lay there feeling sorry for himself, and after a while, he didn’t real feel anything.

It wasn’t long after that, that he found out who Vanessa really was, or rather what she really was. Turns out, Vanessa had managed to hide a fair bit of herself from Wade whilst they were dating, which Wade couldn’t really fault her for considering he hadn’t exactly explained the reason why he had even left her to begin with.

Somehow Wade had completely missed out on the fact that Vanessa had been a mutant, she explained that although they were close, she was brought up to believe that not many people could be trusted with the knowledge of a mutant, which, yeah was true, even though he was pretty peeved that his loyalty had kinda been questioned, it was pretty messed up out there for mutants, so he had easily forgiven her for not sharing with the class.

They had spent the next couple of days having sex on every available surface and testing out Wade’s resistance to alcohol, which by the way was absolute fucking bullshit. He never once managed to get even the slightest bit light headed, it was like drinking water. Nada, zip.Which kinda sucked considering it would have been nice to take the edge off of the constant pain of his skin every now and again.

Pain killers sometimes helped for a few minutes, but the amount of money they had blown through to get him that few minutes of relief wasn’t worth it.

That was when Vanessa had brought up going out of town on some business to Wade. Which he kind of felt was a little suspicious considering she was a stripper so he didn’t understand how much out of town business she could possibly have.

 

**We smelt a rat.**

 

_Yeah WE did, the big guy was too busy wallowing in self pity and having not so fun hallucinations._

 

“The one about the unicorn was pretty rad.”

 

_He bit our toes off_

 

“So fucking awesome.”

Okay so yeah, after the voices had kinda turned Wade’s head into some cesspool of paranoia, he had decided it was probably time to do some digging into the woman he was kind of calling his girlfriend.

They hadn’t really discussed labels but Wade was pretty sure what they were doing was not something considered normal couple behaviour, not that what they had been doing before the Superhero program had been either but this just seemed even more off somehow.

After some extensive research and calling in a few favours from some old friends (so nice to know that Weasel was still such a good dog), Wade ended up finding out that Vanessa had been working with one of Wade’s old bosses, one of his ‘pals’ linked to the mercenary side of the world, Tolliver.

He was a renowned arms dealer that Wade had worked with almost exclusively until he had received a better offer from another group.

Seems as though Tolliver had been keeping tabs on Wade and had figured out what Vanessa was along the way too and had offered her a job. A Mercenary job. Which she had taken.

Now obviously you might imagine Wade wouldn’t have been too thrilled about this when he had confronted her about it. At least she had looked a little bit guilty when he had said something about it.

“I had bills Wade.” Vanessa whispered as she stood cornered by an angry looking Wade in the middle of the apartment floor. She wouldn’t look at him. “I- I was confused and lonely and obviously not in my right mind but I don’t regret my decision.”

“You don’t regret killing people for money?” Wade growled lowly. It wasn’t fair, he was being a hypocrite, but he was angry, he was always angry, irritable, he couldn’t help that he was getting upset with the fact that the person that was supposed to help him with all that wasn’t quite what he had hoped.

“Did you?” Vanessa asked softly, it wasn’t accusing, it sounded like she really wanted to know the answer, which ended up reminding him that he hadn’t told her that he was a mercenary either in the past, he had conveniently left that part out just as she had done. The whole situation was a little familiar.

“Yes.” Wade replied honestly, but the group he had been working with in his last few days in the industry had been less than kosher. They didn’t just kill the bad guys, they killed everyone and he couldn’t handle it anymore.

“You don’t miss it? You don’t miss the job at all?” Vanessa looked over at him imploringly, as if trying to get him to understand the situation with her eyes alone, she took a small step forward. “Tolliver told me about why you got out, what you did.” another small step. “What they forced you to do.”

Wade watched her approach with narrowed eyes, the voices were yelling all kinds of stupid crap in his head, making it really hard for him to concentrate on her words, but also making him paranoid as hell as she stepped closer. He wasn’t sure how he had been staying with her, before and now, without knowing the most important things about her, it made him weary.

“This.” She stressed, almost in front of him now. “Is not like that. It’s not. We only take out the baddest of the bad guys Wade. We’re not _forced_ to do the job either.”

Vanessa was inches away from him now, her hands held up in a show of surrender, trust. “If we don’t like the look of things, we’re allowed to reject the offer.”

“I know how it works Nessa.” Wade snipped back. He felt like a child the way she was explaining it to him. He knew why though. Yeah that was how, in a perfect world, mercenary jobs were supposed to work, but in actual fact, if you ended up working under anyone, you didn’t get a choice in the matter on who you killed, you just did what you were told and you did it with a smile on your face.

“It’s different now Wade.” Vanessa said lowly, slowly lifting her hand to gently drag her fingertips down the side of his arm. “Don’t you miss it?”

The question surprised him a little. It was something he thought about a lot actually, but at the same time he actively tried not to think about it. It was what he had trained for, it was the work he had done his whole life, he had admittedly, enjoyed it sometimes and that, maybe, was another reason he had had to get out.

“No.” He answered back softly, no real emotion behind the answer, no conviction.

“I think you do.”

She was almost smiling now, her voice low and turning more and more sultry the closer he allowed her to get. “ I think you enjoyed it. I think.” She ran her fingers to the side of his scarred face and forced his gaze to meet hers. “You liked putting those assholes in their place, getting rid of the scum that walked around on the earth like they owned everything and everyone on it.”

She was right. His hands twitched with the control it took not to touch her, to either make her back away or bring her closer, and his face twitched with the effort it took not to reveal any emotion.

He felt the hand that was not on his cheek, move close to his side but he didn’t take his eyes away from her, not for a second.

“I think.” She continued, something made a sound close to his side that he picked up on absently but he still held her gaze, as if silently begging her to back down. He knew there was only way this was going to end, he wasn’t strong enough anymore for it to go any other way, he would break if she carried on like this.

“You _crave_ it.” She growled, licking at his ear and shoving something cold and hard into his right hand, something horribly familiar.

He risked a glance down to his hand, now holding one of his old Desert Eagles, previously part of a pair but he didn’t even know where she had managed to get that one let alone it’s twin.

His breath caught in his lungs as he ran his thumb over the weapon and took in all the familiar markings and damage, it was definitely his, he would, unfortunately, have recognised it anywhere.

Vanessa was still hanging on to him, the voices shrieking and encouraging her actions in the background of everything, clouding his mind and his rational thought process. It was wrong, it was all so wrong he thought as it felt as if everything around him was shifting in on itself, like he was losing touch, disconnecting, both living the moment but watching it from a distance.

Vanessa moved her hand over the one he had on the gun, closing hers tightly around his and making him grip the thing tighter, it was wrong but…

“Tolliver told me to tell you that the man you were looking for...he’s alive Wade.”

Wade didn’t catch what she had said, well he did, but nothing was quite sinking in, his mind was a fog, the voices were almost burning a headache behind his eyes and he was seeing the shadows grow in the corners of the room and on the ceiling, they were moving in and he wasn’t even with it enough to stop them. He hadn’t seen them since… well since Peter, but the other man had helped him make them go away, had helped him see that they weren’t really there, had told Wade on multiple occasions to just close his eyes, it would be alright, because Peter was there with him.

Peter wasn’t there anymore though and the shadows were closing in, growing, darker, denser.

“What?” Wade finally croaked out, his eyes lazily looking over the room around him, watching without caring if the shadows did really reach him. He was numb.

“Ajax Wade. There’s a bounty on him, and it’s waiting for you. It’s all yours.”

So Ajax was alive then, he thought absently. Somehow he had thought he would have been more surprised than he was, feel a little more, but something was breaking and he was struggling to hold on.

After everything that had happened, after everything Wade had done and that bastard was still alive. Wade’s hand tightened around the gun, his joints creaking in protest as a pair of disappointed doe eyes flickered across his vision, staring at him sadly as if already knowing Wade’s decision and chastising him for it.

Wade huffed a self degrading laugh as he stared back at them over Vanessa’s shoulder. He was going to do it _for_ Peter, that was the ironic part, the other man may disapprove, but it was all going to be to keep him safe. It was all for him!

No it’s not.

The words flittered, detached and sad across the room, sending horrible chills up Wade’s spine. He glared at the doe eyes in front of him, as if blaming them for all his guilt, all the horrible things he felt inside himself, he didn’t need to be judged, he didn’t need that.

“Maybe, once it’s done, you’ll feel better.” Vanessa’s voice interrupted, shaking him from the hallucination, but only to bring to light the shadows still moving around them, licking at his boots and curling slowly around his leg. He couldn’t see the apartment anymore, Peter had disappeared, the shadows were only growing closer and the voices were only getting louder.

He couldn’t help the laugh that continued to bubble up out of his throat and out into the open, sounding harsh and loud in the otherwise quiet room, he felt Vanessa flinch against him and hold him closer but he couldn’t stop.

He wasn’t going to feel better, he was never going to get better because he didn’t deserve to feel better. Vanessa was right, he did like the killing, it excited him, he _craved_ it, there was no other reason for the pistol feeling so right in his grasp and no explanation of how his mind excitedly planned how he was going to kill Francis, how much the thought felt so fucking good.

He laughed louder, the voices joining him and the shadows engulfing his sides, spilling over Vanessa’s shoulders and up his face until he was just nearly gone, but not quite, they left him just enough of himself to bear witness.

 

**And that’s when big man’s cheese finally done slipped off his cracker.**

 

_Been a fun ride so far though_

 

And that was no lie! From that day on, Wade had been a pretty integral part of a very large group of mercenaries run by Tolliver. It seemed as if most of the team was made up of a lot mutants that had been wronged in some way or another by the world, totally original origin story for a band of mercenaries.

And since everyone and their fucking grandmother seemed to have a suit from their old affiliations EXCEPT WADE, he had, over time, worked out the kinks on a design that was pretty much the most ass tastic thing of all time.  And by that he meant that the suit made his ass look amazing, not that it took much for his ass to look great but you get the gist.

He rebranded himself ‘Deadpool’ and made the name fairly well known among the criminal underground pretty damn quick. He credits Francis’ numerous dead men with that actually.

Speaking of, guess who finally got that bastard right between the eyes!?

 

**Who?**

 

_Shut Up._

 

It was unfortunately not exactly how Wade had pictured it, a few idiots had gotten in the way while he was trying to get to the asshole, so he had a choice of either losing him again or getting him quick. So yeah, one clean shot to the head and not at all as satisfactory as he would have hoped, but somehow it felt like a weight was off his shoulders somehow. They usually say that revenge won’t make you feel any better, and he guessed that was true but knowing Francis wouldn’t be getting near him or Peter again sure as hell made him feel a whole lot better.

But it was pretty much all downhill from there. Wade had started hallucinating more, losing more and more time, waking up in different countries with no memories of how he’d even gotten there. Vanessa was no fucking help at all. She didn’t encourage killing or jobs but she also never discouraged them. The two of them would even go on missions together, kill people together, spend the kill money on stupid shit, fight, fuck, it was all very romantic.

That is until Wade found out how many of Vanessa’s ‘out of town’ jobs were actually spent with Tolliver in one of his fancy pants mansions all over the country.

 

***Sigh* It was so sad. I kinda liked him**

 

_He was probably the biggest douche we’ve ever met but yeah okay_

 

**But he always gave us good jobs, gotta count for something**

 

Wade had to agree that he hadn’t totally _not_ liked the guy, especially, as Yellow said, when he gave Wade the higher paying jobs at the end of the day.

Apparently, that was Vanessa’s excuse too when Wade had found out about them, that she had only been with him in order to get better jobs, which was great because it meant she wasn’t entirely heartbroken when Wade removed Tolliver's head from his shoulders.

It was safe to say that Wade and Vanessa were no longer a thing after that. Wade also had to go into hiding for a little while whilst Tolliver’s guys calmed down and stopped being annoying and trying to shoot him every time he was doing important shit. They eventually gave up though, there was no use in trying to kill someone who was basically a schizophrenic immortal that took great joy in holding grudges against any idiot who tried to shoot at him.

 

**And here we are!**

 

_Looking like a total psycho and talking to ourselves as usual_

 

“Eh.” Wade shrugged, ripping Vanessa’s hands from his front and falling hard on his ass. “Kitty’s used to it.”

“That doesn’t mean it’s not annoying.” Vanessa grumbled as she ran her eyes over the messy apartment with a deep set scowl working it’s way onto her face as she caught sight of the overflowing garbage. She had actually even managed to surprise Wade a little by knowing what he was talking about!

 

_That or the author seems to not give a shit about inconsistency._

 

“Awh, is the poor Kitty feeling left out?” Wade cooed mockingly, dusting himself off and turning straight back to the tv and turning up the volume as they showed ‘Spiderman’ swinging through the city between the buildings again.

“Won’t be long now and he’ll have an official target on his head.” Vanessa muttered as she walked back to where she had come from, obviously feeling like she wasn’t going to be getting an apology or really anything good out of Wade Wilson any time soon.

Wade rolled his shoulders and followed the vigilante’s movements on the screen, a huge smile breaking out on his face. “Oh I can’t fucking _wait_!” He giggled manically, pointedly ignoring the voices ‘stalker’ and ‘creep’ accusations. This was definitely going to be a lot more fun than unicorn porn.

  
**Pft. As if!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I mean, this chapter felt like something was off/wrong but I couldn't figure out what the hell it was and just posted anyway. Yeah I know, bad writer! If anything seems off to you guys pretty please let me know :).
> 
> And I really don't mean to make Copycat kind of a bitch cause I liked her in the movie but I don't think this is a terribly far jump from how canon Copycat could be...? anyyyywaaaaays I dunno, this is just how it is now. :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we start. I'm just going to congratulate the people who managed to read the last chapter before I read over it again and fixed it. Cause hot damn that was just one big cesspool of mistakes and that's my bad!

“MJ have you seen my other glove anywhere?” Peter called as he looked around the apartment frantically, coming across one too many dust bunnies than his mother would have been proud of. A spring cleaning would definitely be in order soon. 

“Ah, not since you threw them off last night during your little tantrum.” Mary Jane answered lightly, buzzing around the kitchen and making toast. Her calm attitude only made Peter even more moody, why couldn’t he be a morning person too?

“I wasn’t having a tantrum.” Peter grumbled back petulantly, frowning at the spider webs getting caught on his fingers from digging under the sofa. Surely his weren’t as annoying as the smaller ones were? He thought as he tried to shake the sticky stuff off his hand.

“Tell me if this sounds familiar.” MJ cleared her throat and put a hand on her chest dramatically. “ Woe is me, the Great Spiderman, dealing with other heroes who don’t appreciate my awesomeness and talent and telling me what to do.” MJ dropped her hand and smirked over to Peter with a raised eyebrow. “And then you went off about some dude having the gall to try and rob you.”

“Okay, firstly.” Peter huffed haughtily, lifting up his index finger and pointing at MJ. “I don’t sound like that.”

“You really do though.”

“ _ Secondly _ , they  _ don't  _ appreciate what I do!If I get cornered by another friggen Avenger preaching on and on about how dangerous the world is and how I need to stay in my own lane I’m going to go nuts. Ironman said that by the way. Those exact words. ‘Stay in your lane’.” Peter laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Apparently you were only a good enough superhero if you were on a special team.

“And that dude did try to rob me, I wasn’t being dramatic, he literally tried to steal the money I had just taken off those thieves last night right out of my hand! Does no one take me seriously?” Peter sighed, rubbing his face before spotting the glove he was looking for wrapped neatly around MJ’s hand.

He glared at her but couldn’t help the twitch from the side of his mouth as he noticed her smiling innocently.

“I don’t see how they wouldn’t, you’re  _ so  _ scary Pete, super intimidating.” Mj continued as Peter stalked over to her with the same scowl still on his face. “Like, almost  _ Hulk  _ levels intimidating.” She backed away as he got closer, hiding the glove behind her back, a playful smile on her face.

“Give it.” Peter held out his hand 

MJ shook her head. “Nah, think I’ll wear it to work, give ‘em all something to gossip abou-.”

Peter quickly rushed forward, slipping his hand around her waist, causing MJ to yelp and laugh as he spun her around to get to the glove. She twisted in his grasp and they both laughed as they started slipping towards the ground, landing in a heap on the cold kitchen floor.

“ _ Fine _ !” Mj giggled breathlessly, bringing the glove out from behind her back. “Take it!” She threw the glove at Peter’s face, making him bark out a laugh. 

“Gee thanks.” 

MJ gave Peter a light kiss on the lips, watching him blush. She snorted at the reaction before pushing herself off of the floor.

“Time for school Tiger, if you don't get going now you're gonna be late… again.” 

Peter rolled his eyes, following MJ’s lead and pushing himself off of the floor and heading towards his bag and shoving his suit inside.

“Your classes start from two today right?” Peter asked as he made his way to the door.

“Yeah, I might actually try staying at the dorms tonight though, my roommate is starting to nag me.” 

Peter nodded distractedly, already planning on a longer patrol since MJ wasn't going to be there that evening. He tended to get… twitchy, the longer he was alone or bored, or didn't have  _ something  _ to keep his mind occupied. 

Thankfully he was almost always preoccupied with school work and being ‘Spiderman’ so he didn't often have to worry about getting too bored.

When he wasn't busy with all of that, there was always MJ, she came around to his place quite often and stayed over night quite a bit too, which had kind of come as a surprise to Peter as he still couldn't believe that she put up with him the way she did. 

MJ actually stayed in the dorms with her roommate on campus but she seemed to prefer Peter's company to her roommates, which he didn't mind, but didn't really get either.

He was almost at the end of his first year of school, well he had had credit from his previous attempt but he had decided to count everything as a fresh start and although he would be finishing his studies within the next two years, he looked at it as if he was still in his first year and still had a while to go, somehow the long term made him a little calmer.

Although he had been in school for almost a year, he had only been Spiderman for a few months or so, actually it would be six months next week. It wasn't a long time by any means but it felt like a lifetime for Peter. The alter ego was so much apart of his life already, he had more of a hard time keeping up with his ‘normal’ life than he did his superhero one.

One of the aspects of his everyday life that he was struggling with just happened to be the beautiful woman standing across from him in his kitchen. 

It wasn't that he didn't like MJ. It was very obvious that he was in awe of her most of the time, she was incredibly brave and smart and she gave snark back to him just as quickly as he could dish it out. 

She knew about his alter ego. Which he had really not planned on telling her at all. Even Harry had warned him about telling other people and Peter had of course completely agreed with that. He had people to protect, if he did the superhero thing then it wasn't just his ass on the line, it would mean that anyone that was even remotely connected to him was a target too. So no he hadn't gone out of his way to tell her.

It kind of didn't help that MJ had gotten pretty comfortable in his apartment though and when ‘Spiderman’ had come tumbling through the window one night and had started casually sifting through the fridge whilst ripping his mask off to shove almost a whole chicken leg in his mouth… yeah well that was a bit hard to explain to a very awake MJ sitting on the sofa gaping at him.

So he'd had to come clean. That had only been his second month as Spiderman too, so it was safe to say that he had felt a little let down by his ability to keep it a secret.

Harry had gone ballistic as Peter had rightly expected but after meeting up with MJ and having her explain her complete discretion and loyalty to Peter, Harry had managed to calm down somewhat, although he wasn't too thrilled about not being the only one to know who Spiderman was anymore, it helped that Harry had always had a slight crush on the redhead too.

After that, MJ had started coming over more often, it seemed that she was worried about Peter, which he appreciated although it sometimes made him feel a bit like a child, an unfortunate outcome considering how much he liked MJ but the whole point of him even getting his own apartment was to be independent.

Another unfortunate outcome, although he wasn't entirely sure if he was being mean if he called it unfortunate but, it seemed as if he and MJ were together? Or that's what he assumed anyway. 

Yes he had been more than interested in her upon meeting again on campus earlier in the year and yeah he guessed that he never explicitly turned her down once they started going on dates and getting a little serious. 

The issue was that, he didn't quite know if he felt for MJ the way he might have been supposed to. Harry continued to tease Peter relentlessly about MJ because of his uncertainty.

MJ would flirt, Peter would blush. MJ would introduce them as a couple, Peter would blush and keep his mouth shut. MJ would  _ kiss  _ him and Peter would blush and shrug it off as if that was just a thing best friends did.

MJ would declare specific feelings and Peter would blush and pretty much go into a catatonic state. 

MJ just thought that was Peter though, she just assumed he was shy and not at all good with expressing himself.

Well, while that last part was  _ kinda  _ true, Peter was  _ not  _ shy by any means, which made it even harder for him to understand why he was even acting that way with her, why he couldn't just explain himself. 

Harry had used his newly gained ‘psychological genius’ that he claimed to have picked up from his weekly sessions, to maybe try to get to the bottom of it, considering he too didn't understand Peter's behavior. Peter had been a bit meek when he first started out in high school but with a lot of pushing from Harry and his bullies, Peter had grown a backbone and was very quick to express his discomfort or disagree when he needed to.

Mostly Harry’s theories consisted of MJ being way too good looking for Peter and he was obviously just incredibly intimidated by her all the time. Peter agreed with the theories somewhat in order to basically just get Harry to stop talking and making Peter stress about his situation even more.

He cared very deeply for MJ, he knew that much, but he didn’t feel like it was the right kind of ‘care’ she had for him and that made him incredibly guilty because he knew they were both on different terms, so he felt constantly stressed out every time she came over and they did couple things and she assumed their couple status while he was too scared to tell her how it really was.

He knew, deep down, why he was doing it though, why he was leading her on. Even though all he wanted was his independence, to live his life on his own terms now that he actually had his life back in his own hands, he couldn’t deny how he panicked every time he was alone. It was why he kept so busy, he didn’t just get ‘twitchy’, he had a genuine panic attack.

Every time it happened it would leave him drained for the rest of the day. He would try to be calm, have some alone time, relax and just try to be a semi normal person spending some time on their own, but then his mind would start to get to him, provide thoughts that didn’t help, self deprecating thoughts such as MJ or Harry eventually growing tired of him, his Spiderman responsibilities being endlessly worthless and unappreciated, never actually feeling a solid sense of accomplishment in saving the people in the city from what the news described as ‘petty crimes’.

He thought about his studies, what he was supposed to do with them, if he wasn’t going to be any use to the world once he had his degree under his belt. What if he helped make something that ended up messing up his life and others just like the first time he had intended to ‘help’. He didn’t even know, truly, why he was trying to help people. He couldn’t point out if it was selfless or not, it always felt more about him than it did the people he was rescuing, as if he was doing it just because and not because he actually wanted to.

Then another part of his mind would argue against him, of course he wanted to help people, it felt great knowing someone was going to go back to their family unharmed. 

Or it could just be him trying to repent. He didn’t know anymore.

But with all those thoughts came the inevitable feeling of not being in control. He wasn’t even able to control his own thoughts, the stuff that had him panicked and sad every time he was on his own, so of course he wouldn’t be able to control whether the people in his life decided if he was worth it or not.

So he ended up feeling a crushing loneliness that wasn’t exactly true. He had MJ and Harry in his life and a few friends here and there he had made along the way from class, but it was like his mind and body were anticipating their loss every time he was alone.

So yes. He was leading Mary Jane on, because he felt that if he told her that he didn’t feel the same way, then he would lose her, she would get angry or upset, hurt and then she would leave him and he’d end up crashing at Harry’s place every time he had a nightmare again. 

This way, no one was really losing. He got the comfort and company he was obviously desperately craving and MJ got the relationship she  wanted. He didn’t see much of a problem with it, even if his subconscious was constantly telling him how wrong it was. 

“You gonna be able to feed yourself tonight without me here?” MJ snarked as Peter opened the door to leave.

He smirked. “Yeah I think I saw a new pizza place down the road.”

“ _ Real _ food Parker!” MJ chastised, waving the knife she was using to butter her toast at him.

Peter chuckled. “Yes mother.”

She shot a glare over at him which he answered with a wink before sliding out the door. “Text ya later.”

 

* * *

 

 

Overall his classes weren’t too exciting that day, he was lucky at one point not to have fallen asleep in his Bioinformatics class, although it was usually pretty interesting and there were always so many new things he was surprised he had never heard of or known before, it was a lot harder for him to keep his attention steady nowadays. Ever since his days at the facility he had noticed his memory and attention span had been pretty lacking, which was a little annoying considering he had always been able to rely on his good memory during class.

So he’d been having to work a little harder to keep up the grades he would have usually been getting (if they hadn’t zapped his brain to mush one too many times!), but he was still managing just fine.

It was a struggle to keep up with the work load a lot of the time though, what with his Spiderman duties and having classes four days out of the week and then his part time job at the Bugle.

The job really didn’t pay much but it was the best he could find in the little time he had given himself to look. He had taken photography classes back in high school and it had become a regular hobby of his so he had expected it would have been a nice reprieve from all his normal daily responsibilities, to be able to go out and do something he enjoyed without too much pressure.

Well that was a load of crap he had sold himself and his ‘hobby’ was probably more stressful than anything he’d faced in class or as Spiderman so far. Okay that was over exaggerating, but seriously, the job was no piece of cake.

He wasn’t even halfway through his first day and being shown around the building before Mr. Jameson, his new boss, had gotten right in his face yelling about how he needed pictures of the new ‘menace’ swinging around New York. Basically Peter had been promised a layoff if he didn’t promise Jameson pictures of Spiderman. 

So he was taking selfies for money and boy did MJ and Harry just  _ love  _ that one! He wasn’t too perturbed though, no one really took what Jameson said seriously anyway and it didn’t take a lot of effort to get the pictures so he guessed it was easy money in a way, if only his boss didn’t make his heart rate and anxiety spike every single time he walked into the office. 

He yawned as he finally filed out of class with the rest of the students. He hadn’t gotten too lucky with his class scheduling and as a result had wound up with two, two hour classes in the morning and another hour and a half class four hours later at five in the afternoon. It really sucked ass but luckily it was only his Tuesday classes that had the giant wait in between, the others were mostly just morning or afternoon classes. 

Unfortunately it was a Tuesday so it had already been a long day with classes, the only good thing about the four hour gap in between classes was that it gave him time to do homework and assignments that he would usually be trying to find time to do in the early hours of the morning after patrolling. 

He almost felt half dead as he caught the bus from his campus towards midtown, ducking down into a deserted alley so that he could slip on his suit.  He never really went home on Tuesdays before patrol unless MJ was there, they usually had dinner together and watched a show or two before he would go out, but there wasn’t really a need to go back to his apartment now and he wasn’t feeling particularly hungry either. 

He worked on his gloves and boots before stalling for a few a minute or two, as usual, to take few deep breaths before pulling his mask over his face. He had hoped that wearing the mask would have gotten easier over time and it sort of did, but there were often times where he would just randomly start getting claustrophobic and he’d have to wear it over his nose for a few minutes in order to calm down and get his breath back.

For the most part though it had been...better. 

“Okay Pete, you got this, just like every other patrol, you can do this.” He whispered to himself, still taking in deep breaths and eyeing the dirty wall next to him. He stashed his backpack behind a rather rancid pile of garbage, pulling up his nose at how it was going to smell later when he retrieved it.

“You got this.” He repeated, sticking to the wall and crawling upwards, the same nervous tension he always got before he went out as Spiderman, the feeling just never seemed to go away no matter how long he had been doing it.

“You’re the man.” He continued to whisper to himself, his usual ritual of trying to hype himself up, he really needed a hype playlist. “You’re not just any man though, you’re the  _ Spiderman,  _ yup, you got this, you got this.” 

He reached the top of the building and ran his eyes over the city below. He always liked to take a minute to admire how great the city looked from above, it actually looked kind of peaceful. 

He didn’t allow himself the fantasy for too long before swinging off in the direction of the shipping yards. He’d been working on a particular group of smugglers for what felt like weeks now. Every time he managed to catch up with them, they would disappear again, it was frustrating but he couldn’t just drop the situation, no matter how sure he felt that he wasn’t going to be able to locate the main people behind the imports.

He’d managed to squeeze a bit of information out of some of their guys on the streets.  It wasn’t too hard, they didn’t seem incredibly loyal to their supplier so they had obviously just been picked up to help out with small, personal sales and that was about it.

They wouldn’t have been told much but they had at least been able to give Peter the name of the person who had hired them. From then on it was just one giant goose chase. People were hired by other people to do one time jobs and the people who hired the people were also only brought on temporarily, basically just to hire other people and that was it. It was crazy and confusing and no one seemed to know anything. They were really good at hiding their tracks.

However, Peter was cocky enough to have himself believe he was way smarter than them and would eventually catch up to someone. And he had. 

The previous night when he had gone out he had run into one of their guys on the street. Whoever it was, was perhaps a little more cocky than Peter was, because they had started packaging their product with a distinct chibi Spiderman sticker on every packet. Using his face wasn’t really the cocky part though, it was more the fact that by doing that, they had made their guys on the streets easier to find and identify as being part of a larger distribution. It felt like they were mocking him, almost giving him the go ahead to keep chasing.

Well, chase he did and luckily he had managed to track down some upper management (or at least middle management) the previous night that had tipped him off to what seemed like an import happening tonight. Mostly he was worried that the guy he had the discussion with last night had tipped off his bosses and he’d get to the shipping yard and find nothing. He was hoping he had at least been a little more intimidating than that.

He had also tried to tell police about what was going down but surprise surprise, no one really took Spiderman that seriously. And then because he was feeling extra stupid he had tried to tell the Avengers, or at least, he had tried to tell Stark, the only member of the Avengers he actually knew how to find, only to be told, as mentioned earlier, to basically stay out of it and go home before he got hurt. 

So the police weren’t going to listen to him and neither were the “World’s Greatest Heroes” so he guessed that meant he was going it alone, he just hoped he didn’t die for his efforts, he was really starting to catch on in his classes, would be a shame to die before he could Ace at least one test. 

He landed silently on the side of a construction crane towards the edge of the shipping yard. He strangely he found himself giving thanks for his abilities, in what was now the new bit of irony that was his life that he actually was grateful for a forced mutation, as he stared out over the dark piece of property, his heightened senses allowing him to see a little better in the dark than most people would be able to, which would hopefully make his hunt for the drug dealers a little easier. 

He stuck to the shadows of the crane as much as he possibly could, leaping towards the nearest transport containers, landing softly and continuing on foot in a small crevice created by the containers, paying close attention to his spidey sense that had started to tingle lightly in the background.

He crouched down, trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible as he followed his senses towards the far end of the yard near the docks but far enough away that no one walking along one of the docked boats or any of the coast guards would be able to see or notice anything.

As it was, there should have been guards there but Peter didn’t notice anyone in uniform. Either they had been taken care of with a substantial bribe or by other means he didn’t really want to think of.

The moon cast a significant glow on the men moving cargo from one of the containers and onto the back of several trucks, they seemed to be on some sort of service road or opening, an easier way for construction workers or crew to get their large moving vehicles through the mass of metal without any trouble. 

The container they were removing the product from seemed fairly well hidden between the others around it, it wouldn’t have really stood out amongst the others in any way and it seemed like it had been there for a while, which was probably smart, not bringing any kind of attention to the cargo for a while would make it a less likely suspect because who the heck would leave what he assumed was millions worth in drugs lying in a container yard.

Naturally, as Peter stared out over the men and the various weapons they were carrying, automatic machines guns included, he started to worry about his life choices. Considering he was alone, did not have any sort of machine gun repellent or backup of any kind, he was a little weary of jumping out and calling them up on their crimes. 

They looked like they were nearly finished loading everything though, he wouldn’t have enough time to call for backup, from the cops or even Stark. His suit was cool but Peter doubted even he would get there in time.

“Okay Pete, this is it. We’re gonna do the stupid self sacrificing superhero thing.” He took a deep breath through his nose and started rising slowly from behind the container he was currently perched on, only to duck right back down at the sound of a loud voice coming from below where the men were.

“ _ Holy Shit _ this is boring! Can I go now? Are you guys done? Because you idiots have been running around with this shit for about an hour now and nothing exciting has happened, no explosions, no ninja’s, seriously, not  _ one  _ ninja? It’s very rare that I meet drug dealers that haven’t been attacked by at least one fuckin’ ninja. It happens. Yet you still want to keep me around and then none of you wanna talk to me!? It’s rude as hell is what it is, what’s a girl gotta do to get some attention ‘round here?”

Peter’s brain skidded to a complete stop as the obnoxious voice carried out over the containers towards him.

“No way.” He whispered, eyes wide. “My luck can’t possibly be that bad.” He lifted his head slightly back over the container to get a better look, heart racing and his throat dry.

Sure enough, there in the middle of all the movement, was a large, red clad man, running his mouth and skipping past one of the lackeys lightly smacking his ass.

Deadpool.

No,  _ Wade. _

No. That was Deadpool, not Wade Peter corrected himself as he tried to control his breathing, lifting up his mask over his nose before he had a panic attack and ripped the thing off completely.  

This was not going to do any good things for his anxiety, he thought as he hid back down behind the container and listened to Deadpool talk absolute nonsense, which he had been used to before but right then it was just making him uneasy.

He had been going out of his way to avoid the man at all costs, as best he could but it seemed as though whatever gods were up there definitely hated him. He’d have to track Thor down and give him a good talking to. 

He had been lucky enough over the past few months not to run into the Mercenary, changing direction immediately if he ever got word from other supers that Deadpool was in the area. He even skipped class the one day because he had heard a rumour that the man had been spotted in his neighbourhood. 

He’s heard about Deadpool's escapades even before his own suit had been ready. The guy was everywhere, on the news almost every week, mainly because he didn’t care enough to be subtle about what he did, he was far from camera shy.

The first time Peter had ever heard of Deadpool, he had actually been having a pretty good day. Weirdly enough, things had been going his way and he had even scored a free cupcake from a girl in one of his lectures. He should have known it was a trap though, the universe just doesn’t allow him good days.

There was a canteen on his campus where the students could buy meals or just relax while they waited for their next class. There was only one tv in the canteen and it was always news so no one really paid too much attention to it but on Peter’s way out of the building, cupcake almost half way gone with one bite and frosting still coating his top lip, he noticed a whole bunch of students crowded around, all of them looking up towards the tv.

There were gasps throughout the crowd and a few of the students had some not so choice words for whatever was happening on the screen.

Peter swallowed the bite he had just taken and made his way towards the other students, a curious frown on his face as he stared up too. 

“What’s going on?” He asked the guy closest to him. 

The guy snorted and waved his hand at the tv. “Some maniac is running around dropping hand grenades inside banks.”

Peter’s eyes widened as he stared at the wreckage of what seemed like at least three different buildings. 

“What? How much have they taken? Why hasn’t anyone stopped them yet?” Peter asked frantically, wishing he had asked Harry for his suit sooner so he could help out. 

“That’s just it, he hasn’t taken anything, it looks like he’s just doing it for kicks. They’ve been trying to get hold of The Avengers to take him out considering the cops can’t seem to get anywhere near him, looks like he’s some kind of mutant, heals from everything they throw at him and then just carries on.”

Peter gaped at the guy and then back at the screen. Who did things like that? If he didn’t want anything, then what was the point of all of it? 

Criminals with no clear motive always scared the hell out of Peter, how were you supposed to talk someone down that was like that? If they had no reason for what they were doing, well then they had no clear reason for stopping either. 

The image on the screen shuddered as another explosion rang out through the street and people scream and scattered, dust and debris falling all around, the scene sending chills up Peter’s spine. The camera man seemed to hesitate on whether or not to stay with the scene, the situation just seeming to get worse. 

There was some mumbling from the cameraman and what Peter assumed was the rest of the crew behind him. Peter absently wondered what happened to the presenter that was supposed to be with them.

“If everyone is still with us in the studio, it seems as if there is someone emerging from the fog.” Someone off to the side spoke as the camera zoomed in on the spot where a figure was indeed coming from the smoke. The crowd of students seemed to hold their breath with the camera crew as the figure drew closure.

“Shit.” One of the crew cursed, the figure becoming clearer. “It’s him!” another member of the crew shouted, clearly terrified by the approaching man. There was a loud scuffle as Peter assumed the crew was taking their leave, the main camera guy cursed and turned around, trying to flee the scene as fast as he could.

The camera shuddered with the man’s footsteps as he run, his breathing ragged as the camera displayed the news van they had obviously come from, the rest of his crew already inside and yelling and pointing behind him. There was a loud gasp from the man before his movement halted and the camera was spun around.

“Ah, Ah, ah! Not so fast there little guy! I need a teensy moment with your viewers.” The voice was muffled, probably due to all the scuffling that was happening and when the camera turned around, Peter guessed the mask over the man’s face was not helping the sound either. “Face it right here Paul Blart.” The man ordered, standing neatly in front of the camera so that one could only see him from his shoulders up.

The first thing Peter thought when he eventually laid eyes on the person responsible for all the damage was how similar the suit looked to the design he and Harry had just authorised for Peter’s own suit. He groaned internally at the thought of having to redo his suit because people were going to think he was this asshole. 

The second thought, was how there was something kind of eerily familiar about the voice, but nothing was clear enough for him to put his finger on exactly why.

“Greetings earthlings! My name is General Zod and I have traveled across the vast galaxy to enslave your puny human planet!” The man chuckled to himself and Peter felt himself grow angrier by the second watching this guy joke around so easily after he had caused so much destruction. 

“Juuuuuust kidding! Name’s Deadpool, you may have heard of me in the past few weeks after I basically skipped my way through a whole league of big baddies, you’re welcome. Anyway! So the point is, I basically killed my arch nemesis, listened to the whole monologue bit and struggled with my morality (not), the whole shebang...But now that that's over, I’m like suuuuper bored!”

“ Like holy crap how do you assholes live without killing someone once or twice a day? The amount of Walmart greeters that are constantly in my face on a daily basis, I tell ya, it's hard. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m in the market for some new clientele. If you’re lookin’ for someone to do your dirty work for you, someone that doesn’t die, has a very limited moral standing and a one hundred percent success rate. Well your man DP AKA Deadpool AKA Wade Winston Wilson, yeah that’s in case the stupid criminals can’t find me, AKA sexiest motherfucker under the Tuscan sun is your dude! I-.”

The connection cut off and the news anchor in studio was sitting looking rather disgusted and a bit pale. “Due to the clear marketing of illegal work happening in the footage we are unable to display the rest-.”

Peter didn’t hear the rest though. It was like a fuzz had gone over his whole body, he had gone numb, the rest of the cupcake rolling from his hand and onto the floor. 

It couldn’t be. He thought frantically to himself as the news reports carried on, no longer showing live footage but rehashing the footage from before. The group of students around him slowly started to dwindle, the guy next to him shaking his head angrily and muttering out a curse against mutants before he also left. 

Peter wasn’t sure how long he had stood there staring at the screen, hoping something new would come in, something that would disprove what the man in the suit had so clearly said. Maybe it was a set up? He always got the feeling that Wade had known bad people, or had maybe done some not so great things in the past with his military background. Maybe someone was using him.

But the voice. He couldn’t deny that the voice was familiar. He would admit that it was slightly different, higher almost, manic, like there was something odd hiding behind it. He stared at the screen, waiting for more information, waving anyone away who even tried to speak to him or ask him if he was okay. He wasn’t okay, he was beyond panic, he had skipped over that step and had gone straight into shock and denial.

“We’ve received reports now that the masked man known as ‘Deadpool’, who earlier today wreaked havoc on a number of downtown banks, is indeed, as he stated himself, Wade Winston Wilson. A former decorated soldier who was released from his service after reports of ‘bad conduct’, the military spokesperson however would not reveal to us what this entailed. We also have reason to believe that Mr. Wilson was briefly involved with a group of mercenaries in the past as well.” 

Peter swallowed heavily as a picture of Wade in his uniform was brought up on screen. He couldn't logically deny any of it anymore. It was Wade, that picture specifically, made his gut twist. To see Wade, how he used to look, before everything had happened, the picture they were showing was before his mercenary days, before the cancer, before the facility. It was almost hard to look at, it made Peter realise how much of Wade he hadn’t seen before, not just this new side of him, a side he couldn’t understand because Wade had been good to him, everything the other man was had felt inherently good and Peter was just struggling with this new Wade.

But, he had never seen Wade without that pain behind his eyes, that heaviness that just didn’t seem to go away no matter how many jokes the other man had cracked. The man on the screen, he was smiling, excited, there was still something there, something dark behind his eyes that only someone who had been through something awful carried with them, but he still looked happier, stronger somehow, and it made Peter regretful somehow, that he had never and probably would never, see that side of Wade.

Eventually someone had come around to switch the tv off and had nearly shoved him out the door as they told him that campus was closing for the evening.

Peter didn’t even take the bus that night, he just walked. He could feel his phone going off every few minutes but he never answered it. He was in a state of shock he hadn’t really felt before. He had felt numb a lot during his days at the facility and when his parents had died… Well nothing would ever be able to live up to that feeling. This was so different though, it felt so oddly personal, he felt sick. Peter took some pride in the fact that he had only stopped to get sick twice on his way home.

It had taken him nearly two hours to get to his apartment, pushing the door open and staring at the empty space with unseeing eyes. He didn’t eat, he couldn't, he just threw his backpack on the floor and crawled into his bed, curling up into the covers for comfort he wished came from somewhere (someone) else. 

Peter had never dated, so he didn’t know the pain of a break up, that pain everyone spoke about that happened afterwards, the sense that the person was gone but not really gone. He didn’t understand break ups, but he felt that he understood heartbreak just as well, especially with having had Wade Wilson in his life. 

He didn’t leave his bed for the next two days, he never answered his phone. He felt betrayed and angry somehow and he couldn’t explain it and he couldn’t make the feelings go away, they were constant and they made his senses harsh and in turn he started getting headaches, which just made him want to stay hidden away in his room even longer. 

Harry had eventually come over and dragged Peter out of bed and made him eat. By the time his friend had found him though, he was already angry, he had surpassed all the sadness and was stuck in his anger.

He was angry at Wade, he couldn’t understand how someone who had been so good to him had saved him in so many ways, had landed up blowing up banks and burying people under rubble. Taking jobs from criminals. Killing people. He felt like he had been lied to somehow, like Wade had been pretending all this time. Maybe it was some sort of revenge plot? Wade had given Peter hope and made him think someone had cared about him and then had dumped him on his ass. 

Harry had listened to every word and Peter could tell his friend was trying to be understanding, but more often than not he would reprimand Peter for dwelling on it.

“Look Pete, I’m not going to pretend I understand who or what this guy is to you, but he chose this, he chose to do bad with what he got given, that’s on him and there’s not much you can do about it. You said it yourself that you changed from what happened…”

Harry looked at him as if challenging him to argue. “It just means… Pete what happened to you guys, I know you don’t tell me everything but it sounds like fucking hell. I don’t think you can get angry at this guy knowing what you both went through. Just because you were strong enough to turn your situation around, doesn’t mean someone else would be able to do the same thing.”

“But Harry it’s wrong! He’s hurting people it’s-”

“Not your problem, Pete.” Harry noticed the look on Peter’s face instantly and carried on before the other boy could spew out his arguments. “Yeah, I know you’ve chosen to do the whole superhero thing, but that doesn’t mean that everything is suddenly your problem. I’ve been watching the news, the Avengers are on this guy, they’ll deal with him.”

Peter could feel tears welling up behind his eyes in his frustration, the situation felt so personal, he didn’t see how he could just let others deal with it.

“Pete.”

Peter looked up at his friend with clenched teeth. 

“I need you to please promise me not to go after this guy. I just… I don’t see how doing so could be good for you in any way. You’ve been doing so well. You just see a picture of this guy on tv and your held up in your room for two days and not eating! Please Pete, just, you need to let this one go, please.” 

Harry looked on the verge of tears himself as he begged Peter to do what Peter had to admit, was probably the healthier option. If he went after Wade - _ Deadpool  _ \- there was no situation he could make up in his mind that seemed to end in a good way. He was still mad about so many other things, if he saw him, if Peter confronted the other man, nothing good would come of it and all he had wanted to do was to get better, to feel better, this was not going to help.

Peter nodded his head once, rubbing the tears from his face and smiling softly up at his friend before nodding again, just to make sure that Harry saw him. 

From then on he had been avoiding the Merc at all costs. He never listened to news of him, refused any information on him other than his whereabouts in order to avoid him, and once he got his suit he made sure to alert other Supers to anything that seemed to be related to the Merc instead of going after the lead himself.

Good lot of help that did him! All that avoiding and planning and strategy and he had just landed himself right at the Merc’s feet. By pure friggen coincidence too. That was definitely the biggest kicker. Dammit he felt stupid as he watched the man from over the containers.

It was the first time he had seen him for about a year. It was...weird. His spider sense was a constant tingle down his spine, but he couldn’t figure out if it was from Wade or from the large number of thugs running around the yard. Or both. He guessed both.

Back up would really have been good right about then. He may not have been keeping tabs on Deadpool, but he had sure as hell heard about his fighting technique and skill. He had been virtually unstoppable, none of the other heroes had any idea about what to do with him. Even SHIELD didn’t know what to do with him. Now  _ that  _ was saying something.

“I say we go for celebratory Margaritas!” Deadpool placed a hand on his chin as if in thought. “They don’t really do much for me, but I’ve always looked sexier holding a colourful drink with an umbrella.”

None of the other men paid him any attention, although Peter did see one or two guy’s hands twitch towards their guns every time Deadpool said something. 

Peter couldn’t stay there, he was going to have to tail them, at least, he had wasted too much time, no one would get to the yard in time before the men left. He sent out a distress call out to Stark anyway, knowing that the device he’d been given was chipped and the man would be able to follow him if he kept moving.

Peter shifted on the container, his foot slipping slightly to the side and making a soft squeaking noise as he shifted his stance to be able to follow as quickly as he could once the convoy started moving. He went still at the sound, eyes shifting nervously to the men below but no one seemed to have noticed. Deadpool had gone still for a split second but with a slight tilt of his head he had just carried on with his rambling. 

Peter blew out a relieved breath as the men started filing into their respective cars, moving across the container to where he’d have a better place to push off.

“Soooo I guess that’s a ‘no’ on the Margarita’s then?” Deadpool mumbled out as the men slammed their doors shut, leaving the Merc outside with a man dressed in what must have been a few thousand dollars worth of a suit. 

“Do you ever stop talking?” The man sighed out, rubbing his eyes and handing a thick envelope over to the Merc.

“I mean I sing too, ya wanna hear?” Deadpool bounced on his toes, taking the envelope excitedly and opening it to check the contents. “Oh, ah damn, that’s ah, shit Baby face - and that's a reference to the famous criminal, not a comment on your looks, just thought I'd point that out, wasn't sure how many people would get that one- that’s a lot more than we talked about.”

Deadpool eyed the suited man suspiciously, as if receiving more money than discussed was a threat instead of a score.

“Yes, well, despite your numerous drawbacks, and they are  _ numerous,  _ we have experienced less issues than we normally would have. The rest is waiting for you at the drop off site.”

Deadpool rubbed the back of his neck, staring down at the envelope and chuckling, almost sheepishly. “Ah shit dude this makes things super awkward now, all things considering.”

The suited man narrowed his eyes at the Merc. “Why is that?”

“Cause Spidey’s been watching from that container over there for like ten minutes already and I just remembered I forgot to tell you.”

Peter’s blood ran cold as Deadpool pointed over to the container he was hiding behind. 

Crap. 

The suited man whipped his head around to face the container and Peter sighed. Well there was no point in hiding anymore. He drew himself up, standing as tall and looking as intimidating as he possibly could, squaring his shoulders and glaring down at the convoy.   
Deadpool was bouncing on the balls of his feet and waving dramatically as the man in the suit just gaped. “Hey! Pe- ah, Spidey! Long time no see! Did you do something with your hair?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna add too much comment today because if I start I'm just be whining about this chapter sooo *Happy thoughts and butterflies and hugs to you all!*


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, guess who got confused by their own timeline

“Hey! Pe- ah, Spidey! Long time no see! Did you do something with your hair?”

 _Hm, yeah something is different. Now if we put our heads together and think_ **_really_ ** _hard about this, we might just figure out what it is_

 

**Is it because he's dressed like a super hot super spider?!**

 

“Well done Yellow. We’ll have a cookie to celebrate your smarts when this is all over.”

“This is _your_ fault!” The man next to him - Don Lucas- growled out, pointing an accusatory finger in Deadpool's direction.

Deadpool whipped his head toward the Don and gaped. “Moi!? Why good sir I would _never_!”

Deadpool placed his hands on his hips, jutting them out to the side and gesturing towards Spiderman. “Not my fault Spidey’s a smarty pants.”

Spiderman still hadn't commented, to be honest it kinda looked like he was frozen. Which made sense in a way, considering Wade was literally shaking from nerves just being in the same vicinity as the other man.

 

**Permission to throw up? Might make us feel better?**

 

“Nah it's cool Yellow. I got an iron constitution.” Deadpool crowed back, patting his stomach lightly.

“The only reason he caught up to us is because of those stupid stickers you had put on half the stock going out over the last few weeks!”

Deadpool side glanced Spiderman as the other man seemed to tilt his head in thought. “I- it wasn't like it was on _purpose!_ I just thought the stickers were super adorbs!”

He glanced between the Don and Spiderman. The Don didn't seem to believe Deadpool's story and Spiderman looked to be eyeing him suspiciously.

Deadpool growled and pointed at Spiderman in accusation. “It was _not_ on purpose! Don't you go gettin’ any ideas Boy Scout!”

 

_Abort abort_

 

“This doesn't seem like it's gonna end in my favour.”

Deadpool mumbled, not missing how Spiderman had lowered himself into a slight crouch.

 

**Looks like at least someone's ready for some action!**

 

“That's enough!” The Don bellowed next to Deadpool, making him flinch. “I've had it up to here with your antics! And now they've cost me my anonymity!” The Don reached inside the car and pulled out a rather impressive looking AK.

“Yeah, cause you were doing so well with that before now.” Spiderman finally chirped from atop his view point.

Deadpool snorted. “Yeah _right!_ As if you would have figured out where to find them if it weren't for those stickers!”

 

_Ahem_

 

Deadpool's eyes widened and he raised his hands in defense staring back at the Don wielding the AK. “It was _not_ on purpose!”

The Don growled before releasing a string of bullets in Spiderman’s direction. Deadpool had to cover his ears at the sudden onslaught, not actually expecting the guy to fire the thing!

Spiderman leapt easily out of the way though, dodging the barrage of bullets with impressive accuracy.

 

**Baby boys got skill**

 

_No. He's got super senses. Technically he's cheating_

 

The Don had obviously told the rest of the crew to stay in the car or they were trained to do so without further instruction from him stating they could do otherwise because none of them seemed to even flinch at the scene.

Deadpool needed to control shit before it all went sideways and he didn't get the rest of his cash.

“Woah woah woah woah! Stop, stop, dude you're gonna wake the neighbors!” Deadpool shouted over the gun, placing his hand gently over the top of it and lowering it while it was still releasing bullets.

It obviously wasn't a movement Spiderman had anticipated because he just narrowly managed to miss being shot in the foot as the gun was being lowered.

Deadpool could almost feel the glare being aimed at him from the other man as the Don stopped firing his gun to look up at Deadpool in frustration.

“My bad!” He called out towards Spiderman, waving his hands before turning back to the Don. The gesture seemed to leave Spiderman frozen again, which gave Deadpool a little more time to deal with the Boss. The attack had left Spiderman on level ground with the rest of them, which he seemed to now notice was a problem.

“Listen here big man. How bout this…” Deadpool leaned his weight casually on the Don whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on Spidey, who already seemed to be taking in his new vantage point, probably trying to figure out the best way to attack.

 

_Whatever he's got planned is gonna get him shot._

 

‘Not really our problem, but it would be a shame if he got gutted before we've even had a little fun!’

Deadpool thought in response to the voices, leaning in nearer to the Don. “You and your men carry on merrily back to the hiding place, thingy, whatever and _I'll_ take care of Spidey.”

Spiderman snorted from where he was shifting somewhat nervously, obviously hearing the conversation.

Damn super hearing.

“What? You don't think I can take you Tintin!?”

Spiderman tilted his head. “Tintin?”

Deadpool shrugged. “It's all I had ready in the moment.

“Fine!” The Don growled out, stuffing the nearly empty barreled gun into Deadpool's arms and sliding into the passenger seat. “But don't expect to get full pay when you get there!”

“Awh come on!” Deadpool whined, dropping the gun to his feet and feeling the car shudder to a start under his hands that had moved to the edge of the window.

He also noticed Spidey tense.

“I wouldn't do whatever you're thinking of doing if I were you Baby boy.” Deadpool sing songed, eyeing the other man's movements and knowing exactly what he was going to do.

“You're clearly nothing like me.” Spiderman growled before letting a web loose and attaching it to the back of the car that was now pulling off, launching himself forward.

Deadpool moved in front of Spiderman's trajectory within seconds, watching as the other man flew towards him. He landed a swift punch to the side of Spiderman’s face, watching with only a little satisfaction as the other man was sent hurtling to the side and onto the ground in a heap of dust.

“I sincerely hope that wasn't a hint at _my_ morality Spidey!” Deadpool crooned, walking casually over to where the other man lay as the cars drove off quickly.

“Because let me tell ya, I've heard a lot about you over the last few months and I don't think you're gonna be qualifying for any All American awards any time soon either.”

Spiderman groaned, lifting his head just to see the cars pulling out of the lot. “No!”

He quickly got to his feet, looking to the nearest crane and webbing it to be able to swing himself in the direction the drug dealers had gone.

Deadpool moved quickly, grabbing the other man's ankle and ripping him from the web and dragging him straight back down to the ground.

“ _Someone's_ not paying attention!” Deadpool mocked as he walked around the other man at a safe distance.

“I mean, I know you're kinda new to this superhero shit baby boy but I'm kinda gettin’ embarrassed for ya.”

 

_He does seem a tad distracted_

 

**Leave the precious alone! He's doing just fine**

 

“No, he's not.” Deadpool mumbled, watching wearily as Spiderman stumbled back to his feet as quickly as he could.

“Get out of my way Deadpool.” The other man growled, shifting into a fighting position. “I'm not that skilled yet but I'm still stronger.”

“Ooooooo ‘Deadpool’, so formal.” Deadpool chuckled, not even bothering to move into his own fighting stance. Peter had wasted time with his amateur moves, there was no way he was going to catch up to the convoy now.

“That's your name now isn't it.” Spiderman stated almost conversationally, moving slowly, the two circling each other.

“Yeah but we go way back Spidey, you can call me whatever you like. It's not as if I'm hiding my identity or anything.”

“Yeah I noticed that when you blew up all those banks and got all those people injured.” Spiderman spat out, moving forward with quick steps, obviously with the intention of landing a punch but Deadpool easily side stepped, pushing Peter to the side almost playfully and then running back to a safe distance, giggling as he went.

“Oh so you've seen my business card then!” Deadpool continued to giggle.

“You almost killed someone! A few someone's!” Spiderman shouted, running at Deadpool and throwing punches that the man continued to dodge, knocking Spiderman's blows away and landing a blow to his ribs, making Peter gasp and drop back again in a crouch.

“But I didn't!” Deadpool groaned. “Geez everyone's so hung up on this fucking Bank story! It was months ago! Can we all move on pretty please? I've done way worse things since then anyway.”

Deadpool noticed the tension almost oozing out of the younger man, his fists were clenched and his stance still ready to attack. He seemed to have all but forgotten the convoy of drug dealers, his attention all on the Merc.

 

**Do you think he has ADHD or somethin’? He seemed to forget about the drugs pretty quick…**

 

_Maybe his brains still doing that weird forgetful thing?_

 

“Nah, I just think we're obviously worth more of his attention.” Deadpool muttered back cockily, grinning at the advancing vigilante.

“You're worth _nothing_ to me right now!” Peter bit back, it sounded like his voice was quavering a bit, the sound causing Wade to straighten ever so slightly. “What is _wrong_ with you!? What happened? Why are you like this now?” Peter's voice was pleading but still angry, as if he was battling to keep himself in control.

Deadpool snorted and put a hand to his chin in mock thought “Hm, now I wonder, what could have possibly happened.”.

“So what.” Peter shifted slightly forward, fists still clenched. “You go through something horrible and you think the world owes you something? You think you somehow get a free pass at being a psycho?!”

Deadpool clenched his teeth and rolled his shoulders.

 

**Bad word**

 

“I don't like that word Baby boy.” He rumbled menacingly.

“Yeah well I don't like being called ‘Baby Boy’ by you so guess we’re even there.”

“You think you're so great don't you?” Deadpool yelled, his fingers itching for his katanas, this new conversation was really starting to suck the fun out of everything. “You put on a suit and play superhero and suddenly you're the biggest fucking saint out there!”

“I never said I was anything.” Peter responded calmly, obviously picking up on the fact that Deadpool's attitude had changed to a more serious one.

“Oh no! You're just goin’ around judging how I handle my shit.”

“You _kill_ people!” Peter yelled back incredulously.

“News flash ‘Spidey’, I've always killed people! It's kinda my thang!”

 

**This is getting boring, didn't we come out here to have some fun?**

 

_Gotta agree with the idiot here. The feelings aren't doing very much for me_

 

“Yeah I’m not really feeling it either.” Deadpool sighed, unsheathing his katanas and twirling them almost lazily. Not that he thought he would have to put too much effort into his attack anyway, kid was such a rookie. But he could feel his mind starting to the thinking thing again. Analysing, _feeling._ Wade didn’t want to think about the things he had done, didn’t want to think too in depth, actually reflecting on the bad things he had done was dangerous.

“So what.” Peter asked as he repositioned his footing, watching the katanas closely if not warily. “You plan on killing me then?”

Deadpool eyed the other man curiously, honestly wondering if Peter ever thought Wade would have the stomach to actually kill him. Heck Wade wasn't even sure how far he could take this. It wasn't like he ever planned this sort of thing through. Honestly about fifty percent of his kills happened by accident.

He heard a derisive snort come from the other man. “What you haven't done enough to me?”

 

**Excuse us!?!?**

 

_Maybe we should kill him?_

 

“Bug say whaaaaat?!” Wade gaped at Peter, katanas having slowed down to a halt.

 

**What the fuck did we do!?**

 

“I mean, this can't still be about the apartment thing can it?” Deadpool asked the voices and maybe offhandedly was asking Peter too. “Cause I thought he'd at least be over that by now.”

“It was never about the apartment you big dick!” Peter growled

Deadpool sneered, knowing that it would be visible even under his mask. “Damn straight it’s big.”

“Oh my-.” Peter threw his hands to his head and clenched at the mask, grunting in frustration. Deadpool just waited it out, he usually had that kind of effect on people and Peter had never really been immune even if he was one of the few that tended to play along.

“You're impossible! I don't even know how I put up with you all those days!”

“I mean to be fair, it seems like you were a lot more fun back then.” Deadpool mumbled, fiddling with the sharp edge of the blade.

“Well I'm so sorry I lost a bit of my fun outlook on life after nearly dying from daily torture!”

“Yes yes we get it. Your life is so hard, you're the only one who got tortured blah blah blah boohoohoo.” This was getting tiring, Wade didn't _want_ to speak about this shit. And he certainly didn't plan on being attacked for stuff he did like a year ago!

 

**Really thought he'd be over it by now.**

 

“Yeah!” Deadpool crowed in agreement, pointing a finger at Peter. “You're still holding on to all that crap that happened? That was _forever_ ago! You need to get over that and you definitely need to stop blaming me cause I sure as hell didn't do anything wrong, in fact I did that shit _for_ you.”

“I slept alone. On a park bench in the middle of winter Wade!” Peter was right up in Deadpool's face now, completely having forgotten about how easily Wade could kill him from the close proximity.

Wade blinked, the words confirming a worry he had carried with him for so long after Peter had walked out.

 

_So he had spent the night on the street. Guess we should have known, he did tell us there wasn't anyone he could go to._

 

‘But he's here. He's fine. _Someone_ must have been there.’ Deadpool thought back to the voices. He was starting to remember those few days after Peter left, lump of worry that sat in his chest almost constantly. He was trying desperately to shove the memories back down though, they weren’t any use to him now anyway.

“I never forced you to leave.” Wade grit out, not knowing whether to defend himself or simply just ask Peter what had happened, how he had managed to carve out what Wade had to assume was some sort of life for himself considering he had a whole super suit!

“So what you expected to me to just sit, all alone at that apartment while you ran off with someone else? I assume the reason you did it was to go back to Vanessa.”

Wade glared at the other man. He felt like the whole situation was really unfair. What had Peter expected him to do? The other man knew he had someone waiting at home! Wade had told him that much at least. He hadn’t told Peter that one of the reasons that they had, had to go their separate ways was because of Vanessa though, it seemed like that comment was just Peter fishing for a proper excuse. Well he found it.

So instead of talking it out properly, Wade did the thing he did best. He made shit worse.

“Wow this really ate at you huh? Didn't realize we were so close Baby boy. I mean, we must have been dating or something with the way you're fucking making me feel guilty about leaving you for my girlfriend!?”

Wade noticed Peter shoulders hitch, as if he had taken in a sharp breath and was just holding it. Once again Wade could feel the glare through the mask.

Wade had to admit that although he should have been expecting it, Peter really got the jump on him this time.

 

**For once**

 

Spiderman leapt forward with a loud growl, knocking Wade to the ground and onto his back. The other man was straddling Wade's hips as he landed a firm blow the the side of the Mercs face. The katanas having skittered to the side from the force. Or more, Wade letting them skid away. If Peter was gonna go this route then it was better if Wade didn't have anything sharp near him.

Wade grunted with the force of the blow but couldn't keep his mouth shut as usual. “Oooo look at you big man! Throwing punches like an adult and shit.”

Peter didn't let up after that, finally letting his strength take him over so that he could keep Deadpool pinned. The punches continued, harsh and unyielding, somewhere along the line Deadpool realized that he had started to laugh.

He couldn't figure out what exactly about the situation he found funny but he couldn't stop himself. His vision blurred as he felt the blood vessels in his left eye give way, the blood from his cheek and nose felt pretty damn gross and he knew after a while it was just going to go crusty and feel even more disgusting under the mask.

He was pretty proud of himself though, he had predicted a whole bunch of reactions from Peter when he saw Wade again, and this, well Wade had definitely guessed this part right. What he hadn’t taken stock of though was how seeing the other man was going to dig at all the stuff the Merc had shoved so far down. All the stuff he had tried to get rid of, so he could cope, just forget.

He was so focused on his own thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that the blows had stopped.

He felt his cheek start to knit itself back together as he shifted his gaze towards the man above him.

Peter was breathing harshly, the bottom of his mask had been pulled up over his nose and he looked like he was battling to get proper breaths in. He had placed one hand on the ground next to Wade's side and was leaning most of his bodyweight on it, his other hand clutching uselessly at his chest.

“You need to breath _slower_.” Deadpool croaked out, allowing his head to fall back to the dusty ground below him. “We've had this conversation before. Deep, slow breaths.”

Wade could still feel the hysteria bubbling up inside him. He wasn't laughing anymore, a little more focused on Peter than anything else but he could feel it was still there, like it was stuck in his throat..

It took a few minutes but eventually Wade was completely healed from the onslaught and Peter's breathing had evened out to a more acceptable pace, his hand crunching on the dirt ground every time he shifted his weight, the sound almost too loud in the silence between them.

Wade moved his head forward to allow himself another look at the man on top of him. Peter was looking at him too, more like staring. His mouth set in a thin line and his body taught.

“And you called me the psycho.” Wade huffed, feeling obligated to at least one blow to Peter's ego considering he'd just had his face smashed in.

Peter went still at the comment, mouth opening and closing as if to say something but never doing so. Wade was just about to shift the other man off of him before he heard a shrill beeping sound.

Spiderman looked down towards his wrist where a red light was blinking in time with the beeping noise. He cursed before quickly shuffling off of the man below him, nearly landing his foot on a few sensitive pieces.

“Hey, hey! Watch the jewels Spidey!” Deadpool grumbled, following the other man into a standing position.

“Sorry.” Peter mumbled out, staring towards the skyline of the city.

Wade was a little taken aback by the apology but he figured the guy was just a little preoccupied with something else to legitimately be apologising.

Wade followed the man's gaze and in the distance he could just make out something coming their way, followed by what sounded like a friggen jet engine.

 

**Are we being bombed? Spidey wouldn't be so casual if that was the case right? Can we survive bombs? I know we fare well against hand grenades but we haven't gotten to bomb level yet.**

 

Wade mentally hushed the box as he watched whatever it was get closer. Spidey didn't seem too worried but there was something about his stance that made Wade feel that even though whatever it was, wasn't dangerous, it still wasn't good.

The beeping on Spiderman's wrist somehow managed to get louder and faster the closer the object got. Wade strained his eyes as he took in red followed closely by a flare of orangey yellow that Wade assumed was coming from the boosters.

“You've got to be kidding me!” Wade whined as he watched as Iron Man came in for a landing and started to walk towards the two of them. “You invited Iron Douche!?”

Peter, for his part, actually managed to look a little sheepish. “I needed back up.”

Deadpool rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as the billionaire stepped closer. “Whattup TinCan, haven't seen you since you lent me one of your fancy jets a few weeks ago. Thanks by the way. Smooth ride.” Deadpool purred out mockingly.

“Yeah about that.” Iron Man turned his gaze towards the Merc, voice as nonplussed as ever. “I don't lend my toys to unstable mass murderers, so I assume you know I'm coming after you for that.”

Deadpool giggled, placing his hands behind his back and rocking on his feet like a child. “Sooooo I’m guessing you haven't found it yet?”

“Oh no we found it. Fury tells me they stumbled on what was left of it outside a bar, the only bar, on something called Pitcairn Island.”

Deadpool cursed under his breath and scuffed his boot petulantly on the dirt below him. “Dammit. Really thought I hid it good this time.”

Iron Man ignored the comment and turned to Spiderman, who still looked a bit sheepish but still rather tense under Iron Man’s gaze. “I assume he's the reason you called me at whatever ridiculous hour it is right now.”

Deadpool noticed Spidermans hands clench to fists at his sides before he replied, his voice low and seemingly annoyed. “ _No,_ I called you because there was a whole gang of drug dealers out here moving tons of product! And that was forever ago! I could have died by now!”

Iron Man seemed rather unfazed by Spiderman’s outburst though. “Which would not have been the case if you had taken our advice and stayed out of this sort of thing. You're not ready, you're too young, end of story.”

“So you thought it would be better to just ignore my call and let me a learn a lesson or something!? And I'm twenty one! I'm not a kid!”

Deadpool whipped his head toward the other man and frowned. “Ah no, you're nineteen.”

Peter turned towards the Merc almost surprised, as if he had completely forgotten Wade was there. “What? No, I'm twenty-one?”

“Nope. I specifically remember you telling me you were nineteen.” Deadpool threw back matter of factly.

“And I was.” Peter replied slowly. “ _Two years ago._ ”

Deadpool tilted his head and contemplated the response.

 

_Seems legit_

 

**Time is a human construct**

 

“Yeah okay, carry on.” Wade shrugged, waving his hand between the two heroes to continue, still trying to get it into his head that it had been so long.

Spiderman and Iron Man stared at him quietly for a few seconds. “Anyway.” Stark dragged out, focusing his attention back on the other man. “I told you to stop this. And now I found that you're out here with _him_ and- wait… did you say two years ago?”

Deadpool had already started to feel like he was in the midst of a family fight and now that the attention seemed to be gravitating back towards him he felt like it was probably time to skedaddle. He also figured that he wasn't going to get away with all the murder, drugs and stealing charges without some jail time from Fury if he stayed near Stark for too long.

Not that they ever managed to hold him that long but he had shit to do, money to collect. Maybe a Don to kill. You just never really know how the night's gonna turn out.

Deadpool shuffled back slowly away from superheroes, his hand reaching for his utility belt. “So this was like super fun and all but I really gotta get goin’. Lots ta do.”

The heroes had noticed Deadpool's back tracking and had inched slightly closer to him. “Deadpool. Don't.” Spiderman warned.

“Spidey, nice to see ya. Thanks for the beat down. Was a real treat but ahhhhh. BYE!”  
Deadpool grabbed about three smoke grenades from the side of his belt and threw them right at the heroes, running past them and towards freedom, only half noticing the coughing and wheezing behind him and the irritation in Spideys voice when he called out. “Deadpool!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I plan on getting Wade to be a little more expressive about his feelings in the future. The reason I haven't done so much now is I've tried to get the point across that his is seriously repressing his emotions, so it felt right to add a little less of that in this chapter.
> 
> Happy Easter to all those who celebrate it and a really good weekend to everyone (^_^)!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a little shorter than most. I did it for my own sanity.

Peter glared as hard as he could through the smoke around him. Luckily he had managed to pull his mask back down before Iron Man had gotten there or he probably would have been even worse off.

The smoke was obviously intended as more of a diversion than a deterrent because it didn't manage to irritate his throat the way the smoke bombs various other criminals used around him. It was actually kind of surprising how many people used those stupid bombs.

Definitely not his favourite thing in the world. 

“What was that?” Stark asked as he waved the smoke from his face unnecessarily, it wasn't as if it could somehow bug him through his Iron Man suit. “What just happened?”

Peter scowled. “I already explained that part.” 

“Okay let me rephrase… everything. Did you say you knew him? From, what was it again?  _ Two years ago _ ? Kid, I'm hoping I'm not drinking as much as I think I am but I'm pretty sure neither of you have even been active that long.”

Peter stared at the ground, his face flushing with having been stupid enough to have it out with Deadpool in front of Iron Man. “That's technically not how ‘rephrasing’ a question works.” He muttered back instead.

Maybe he could somehow annoy Stark into forgetting the whole situation completely. Lord knows he'd like to forget it too. 

“Spiderman.” Iron Man warned, giving Peter chance to take back his snarky comment and actually attempt a proper answer. 

“Yeah, so, we kinda, maybe, sort of know each other. From before all-” Peter waved his hands around for emphasis. “...This.” 

“And you didn't think that that was maybe important information that the Avengers or Shield needed to know?” Iron Man sighed, the words making Peter's blood boil.

“You guys don't listen to what I have to say anyway. What difference would any information I give you make if you don't  _ care _ !” 

His, incredibly, complicated feelings on Wade at that moment aside, Peter doubted that he would have actually given the Avengers (and especially not Shield) any information on the other man. Despite everything, just the thought of admitting anything to Iron Man felt like some sort of betrayal on his part. They had both been through enough, the last thing they needed was the Avengers snooping around their shared past.

“This is serious Spiderman. You've asked us on multiple occasions to trust you, to let you help out, to train you and yet you're hiding important information from us. This is serious. Deadpool is a killer, if you knew anything about him that could help us get to him-.”

Peter shook with annoyance as he listened to the other man prattle on. They had never given him any of those things that Stark had mentioned, they had always flat out denied him and now, all that he was not given to start off with, was somehow going to be taken away because he wasn't sharing every detail of his diary with the Avengers? 

“I can’t. ” Peter grit out, interrupting whatever Stark was going to say, he hadn't really been listening that much anyway. “Tell you anything on him. Mostly because I don't think I even really know anything about him! Maybe I used to, maybe I didn't even know that much, but I can tell you that I have no idea who the hell Deadpool is.”

It wasn't a lie. He didn't know Deadpool. He understood absolutely nothing about this new, scary masked man that had bounded into his life. He couldn't even make himself believe that he had known Wade all that well, because as it turns out, there was plenty he must not have known. 

Peter scrubbed his hands over his face in tired frustration. It had been a long day already without everything that had happened at the shipping yard. His body and mind had reacted… unfavorably to the sight of Deadpool and basically left him in a permanent state of panic throughout the whole ordeal.

He'd let the Merc get way too many shots in that, had it been anyone else, would have landed him in hospital or probably a lot worse. His Spidey sense had been all over the place in his panic, his breathing uneven, making him kind of nauseous. Just one giant whirlwind of panic that had left him face down in the dirt at Wade's feet multiple times.

That was another thing. Deadpool had all the opportunity in the world to take Peter down, possibly permanently, but he hadn't. Peter may even suggest that the Merc had been  _ gentle.  _ Pulling his punches. 

Considering what Peter had seen or heard the man do, he had expected Wade to be long gone and for Deadpool to have easily killed him tonight. 

But that hadn't happened. He'd seen some of the Wade that he had used to talk to. People (other supers and news shows) went on and on about how psychotic the man was and Peter had been obligated to believe them at a stage, hell, he had seen the beginnings of Wade's mental issues when they had been living together. 

The- the voices,  _ shadows,  _ but Wade had told him that the shadows at least had gone away after a while after Peter's ministrations, reminding him that they weren't there, showing him what was real and what was not.

They had worked through it. One of the only things he thought they had actually managed to work through together. 

But he guessed he wasn't as helpful as he had made himself believe because something had made Wade the way he was now, something had toppled the already tilting tower. He couldn't help believe that this wasn't just the long term affects of what had happened to them.

He had tried to keep in mind what Harry had said to him about not judging Deadpool too harshly, he had tried to see it from his perspective but he was struggling, it was hard when he didn't have all the details, maybe they would be helpful in making him understand. He may just have to see the crazy asshole again if he wanted to put his own mind at rest.

“Spiderman I’m sorry but that's not good enough considering what I've just witnessed. If you're going to be withholding information then I'm afraid we won't be able to help you in the future.”

You weren't helping me before. 

Peter thought bitterly, his ears burning with the shame of having somehow disappointed someone he had looked up to so much in the past. His father had always referenced Stark's work, almost resentfully given the age at which the billionaire had gained his status among the scientific community. 

“I'm sorry.” Peter mumbled out, maybe he even meant it, but he couldn't give anything about Deadpool up without giving everything up about himself too and he somehow didn't think it was fair to discuss Wade's life and experiences without his consent anyway. 

“So am I kid.” Stark sighed, the suit roaring as the engines lit up and drove the billionaire out of sight leaving Peter, once again, in the dust.

 

* * *

  
  


Deadpool snarled, overturning the sofa (the only piece of furniture in the apartment that was probably still in semi good condition) and watched as the cushions scattered and it made an almost unsatisfactory “thwump” sound as it hit the floor.

His neighbors were probably going to have a shit fit. Again. 

Not only had he let some less than insignificant person from his past -

 

_ Liar _

 

Get to him, but he'd also lost out on the rest of his pay! 

Sure he could have easily threatened the Don into given up the rest of the cash, maybe even killed a few guys here and there but it honestly wasn't worth the effort. 

Don Lucas would call on him again. Wade was just cocky enough to know that he was the best at what he did and even if he had kinda screwed shit up this time, he was still the best.

 

**The ‘best’ nearly got the whole deal blown up**

 

“Oh please.” Wade snorted, rifling through the fridge for the leftover Chinese that had been sitting for a little longer than was safe. Good thing he couldn't actually get food poisoning or he'd have to throw out half the shit in his fridge.

“Peter’d have to train all day every day to get one over on me. He didn't even come close.”

 

_ He's gonna get himself killed running around with those rookie moves _

 

“Not our problem.” Wade hummed, shoving a large fork full of noodles into his mouth. “I was curious. I saw him. That's it, the end, time to move on.”

 

**That or he's gonna get himself kidnapped. Held for ransom. He's friends with the Avengers right? He's gotta be worth quite a lot…**

 

“Don't care.” 

 

_ There's always that little hit out for him that we haven't thought about in a while. _

 

**Knowing the people we know. I'm guessing: kidnapped, tortured and then killed.**

 

_ Safe assumption _

 

**He's also just kind of an airhead sometimes ya know? I wouldn't be surprised if he just gets run over by a bus trying to save a dog or something.**

 

_ Or his webbing snaps while he's in mid air.  _

 

**Or he falls down a sewer grate**

Wade growled, slamming his hands down on the table loudly, actually feeling a little smug when the voices went quiet. “Not. My. Problem!” 

“Besides, all that shit you mentioned is more than likely gonna happen to at least half the people in this city.”

 

**Yeah but those people aren't Petey**

 

“I’m done with this. You assholes can keep going on about going back to him but I'm putting my fucking foot down! We shouldn't have done what we did in the first place! And now look! I'm outta cash and moody as hell.”

The boxes had been sharing their very loud and opinionated views on Peter's well being ever since they had made it off that dock, leaving Spidey and Stark in a cloud of smoke. 

He himself had only felt a little bad for leaving Peter in Stark's hands. No doubt he was going to get a talking to. The thought of Stark or any of the Avengers trying to reprimand or talk down to Peter had Wade chuckling. The kid was a mess but he could be a lot scarier than anything most of the Avengers had probably seen in their lifetime.

 

_ Especially when he's grumpy  _

 

“Which was pretty much  _ always!”  _

 

**Just a little peek in his bedroom window or something?**

 

_ Creep _

 

“ _ No!  _ We're gonna be good bad guys from now on and stay clear of any super suited super douches got it?”

Wade didn't get to hear the voices reply before his phone started to ring, Harry Nilsson’s “Best Friends” telling Deadpool who it was.

“Chuck’s Unusually Sourced Pig Feed Emporium, you chop 'em, we slop 'em how may I help you?”

There was a long drawn out sigh on the other end of the phone before Weasel eventually answered. “Wade.”

“What? That not a good one? Hang up quick I want a redo.”

“Wade not now, I have news.”

Wade sucked in a sharp breath. “You're pregnant. I knew we should have used protection.”

“Ew, no, actually my news is pretty bad and it’d still be better than that.”

“Rude.”

“You said you were involved in that Super Hero program or some shit right?”

Wade stiffened. “Why?”

“Ever heard of Weapon X?”

Wade scrunched up his nose. He hadn't heard of it but he had a sense he already knew where this was going. He had found out during his ‘information scouting’ of Francis’ men that the “Superhero Program” was basically just a pet name used by the scientists around the people they were experimenting on. The real name was something stupid that involved ‘Weapon’ something or other. He didn't really think it mattered much at the time. 

“No.”

“Okay, well they're basically really ugly, really close cousins. It's gotta at least be a few guys that were involved in the Super Hero program that have started this new shit up.”

Wade curled his fingers tightly, digging his nails into the palm of his hand. “Okay? And what does this have to do with me?”

Weasel seemed to flounder for a few seconds before regaining himself. “We-well I thought you'd kinda want to look into that? Considering all the shit they put you through?”

“You know what “Thought” did Weasel?” Wade growled back menacingly.

“Wade-.”

“Thought  _ thought  _ he was having a nice long fart but shat his pants instead.”

“Uhm, okay…”

“I killed my target. I'm done.”

“Well, then I guess it wouldn't phase you to know that they've recently begun recruiting and that they've been hiring people to ‘recruit’ two people in particular.”

Wade groaned, he really thought he had been done with these idiots. Why couldn't they just leave him alone!?

“Two guys.” Weasel carried on, trying to emphasize his explanation.

“...”

“One of them is really, really ugly.”

“...”

“Like looking at him kinda makes me understand why some animals eat their young.”

“Thanks Weas. I got it.”

“Like the only way he'd get laid was if he crawled up a chicken's ass and waited.”

“Your hand pretends to fall asleep when you jerk off doesn't it?”

“You're literally the reason man created alcohol.”

“I'm pretty sure your parents kept the placenta and threw away the baby.”

“You look like something I'd draw with my left hand.”

Wade snorted at that one. 

“You're gonna have to warn your friend.” Weasel said carefully, not knowing much about Wade's “friend” other than he did not like to talk about him.

“Awe come on! Why does everyone and their cat want me to see this guy again!” Wade grumbled, throwing the leftover box of Chinese at the wall across from him. Watching as the noodles slowly slid down the wall as Yellow screamed appreciation for Weasel.

“I thought you were looking for him anyway?”

“Yeah well I changed my mind.” 

Weasel sighed and Wade could almost feel the other man pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yeah well you better change it back before they get a hold of him again. I'm not sure why they even need you two back but I doubt it's to hand you your Super Hero program graduation papers. I don't need to tell you that these guys are real serious Wade and considering what you did to their last clubhouse, I don't think they're gonna go easy on either of you.”

Wade stayed silent on his end as he took all of that in. He had somehow thought that by getting rid of Francis he would be getting rid of the problem for good but he obviously hadn't taken into account that Francis had bosses too, had other colleagues that Wade may not have gotten too.

Forget escaping and burning down their labs! Wade had basically just killed off most of their employment roll and one of their head honchos. If this new organisation was even slightly related to the first one, well then Wade had landed both himself and Peter in some huge shit. 

But mostly, Peter. No matter what they ended up doing to Wade, he knew it wouldn't make a difference, he would heal. He also couldn't possibly get any crazier than he had already gotten. Peter on the other hand, he was lucky enough to have survived the first round.

“Didn't you mention that they had already started with his conditioning?” Weasel asked slowly, breaking Wade out of his thoughts. 

Wade frowned. “Yeah, why?”

“Well then he's probably first on their list. The job was kind of half done anyway.”

Wade struggled with that for a few seconds. “Okay but they didn't do anything? I got to him in time, he's still all there.”

“How do you know that?” 

Wade bared his teeth, clutching the phone tightly, hand shaking as he tried to rein himself back in. He really didn't like being questioned, especially not about this, it brought up too many ‘what ifs’. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“How do you know they didn't get far with the conditioning?” Weasel pressed, sounding genuinely curious but mostly it sounded accusatory 

“Because you can't brainwash someone in a few days! It takes months, at least! He still had his memory! He knew who he was, they didn't have enough time to take anything away!”

“Who says they were just trying to take something away?”

Wade held his breath. He couldn't answer that. This was supposed to have been over. The two of them were supposed to be over. None of this was fair, everything they had done, everything Wade had done, would have been for nothing if he allowed all of this to happen again.

“I'm not saying it's a certainty Wade, it's actually mostly just speculation, but I don't see a lot of reasons why they would want him brought in instead of just killing him.”

Wade still didn't answer. His throat was dry and he was struggling to form coherent words in his own mind let  alone being able to speak them. 

“I'll just ah- I'll get you the rest of the details soon.”

There's was a soft “click” from the other end of the line as Weasel hung up. Leaving Wade to stew in his own annoyance. 

“Well  _ fuck! _ ”  Wade groaned, jumping up from the chair he was sitting on and turning that over too, with a little more force than he had anticipated as the chair went flying into the kitchen cupboards, shards of chair splintering all over the floor. 

 

**Does this mean we get to see Petey again!??!?**

 

Wade paced the length of his apartment, trying to figure out if he could possibly get to the assholes without having to involve Peter again. He'd looked the kid up, maybe stalked him just a tiny a bit. Not enough to get any first hand glances, but enough from people that owed him some very big favours. 

Peter was doing well. He was doing the smart science kid thing and studying a degree Wade had no chance in hell of coming even a little close to understanding. 

He was also, according to Wade's sources, even hanging out with some hot redhead, who apparently looked like his girlfriend. 

He was doing well. And Wade had been… glad, he guessed. Sure he had kind of had some unexplained negative feelings when he heard about the redhead but he was glad the kid was doing well, living his life, almost normally. The fact that he seemed to be happy, did something to Wade that he couldn't explain.

He racked his brain trying to come up with some way he'd be able to do this without putting Peter in the middle of it. But the issue was that Peter was already in the middle of it to begin with, Wade couldn't control that. The kid was involved whether he liked it or not.

 

_ Not gonna help if we keep this to ourselves. He deserves to know _

 

“He’ll freak out. What if he blames me?”

 

_ Thought you didn't care? _

 

**Well we all knew that was a fucking lie**

 

_ Maybe the Avengers could offer him protection? _

 

**SANCTUARY!!!!**

 

“As if that overrated boy band would give two shits about someone other than themselves.”

 

_ So then what's the game plan? _

 

Wade eyed his Katanas and the rest of his suit that he had all but ripped off on his way in. He walked over to his swords, running his fingers lightly over the sheath. He remembered the way Peter had tensed ever so slightly when he had taken them out during their fight. He knows that if the boy had not been wearing a mask, he would have seen fear in his eyes.

Wade's brow furrowed as he attached the swords to his back. 

“Guess were gonna be doin’ a little bit of recon boys.”

 

**Boys?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! with regards to Weapon X, I debated with this for a while but I'm going to go with the one the boys were in being Weapon IX (for obvious reasons) but the main one being that this was originally the program Wade was supposed to be in in the comics. Mostly the program worked with psychopaths and criminals and Wade kinda falls into the criminal part, although I am not going to stick with that specific group of people being the only group that were experimented on in this fic. 
> 
> Weapon X exclusively used Mutants as their test subjects in the comics. (eg Wolverine and Sabretooth) but would later on be absorbed into Department K and then only went on to making Deadpool. (the information is not really needed I just thought it might be interesting lol)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No surprises here but I haven't read over this well enough yet. If anything is like glaringly wrong please let me know :).

Peter had tried to keep himself busy since the previous day when he had run into Deadpool and Iron Man.

Luckily he had at least had his classes to keep his mind off of things. MJ had been texting him all morning, since it wasn't usually like him to ignore her texts.

He just couldn't bring himself to even be able to text someone at that point. He had felt so drained. His classes that day had made less than no sense, mostly because he couldn't care to listen to anything that was being said.

His lecturers had given him worried glances every few minutes when they started noticing the usually attentive student was being less than attentive.

He just, couldn't seem to focus, his mind was everywhere. He had thought about Wade mostly, how pretty messed up the whole situation was.

How pretty messed up Wade had to be to think he could casually stroll back into Peter's life. It wasn't that Peter was still angry about what happened, because he understood why Wade had done it. He understood the need for normalcy again, for Wade to want to be with someone he considered family.

He couldn't understand or justify the rest though. The killing. To him, it seemed no matter who you are or what you've been through, doing harm to others could not possibly be justified. Well that's what he'd been telling himself anyway. That he needed to be better than the people that had done this to him and Wade and all the others that had died in the facility.

Yes, he… struggled with it sometimes, maybe every second day… maybe a little more. Where he would let his strength free and not hold back, where he would punch too hard or feel bones creak when he held on too tight. Sometimes, it felt kind of exhilarating to see the fear in the bad guys eyes. To see them actually rethink what they had been doing to other people, it was almost satisfying.

But he would stop himself. He had to, or he would just be another bad guy running around the streets frightening people.

He couldn't deny that that was how he saw Wade now. He saw him as Deadpool. Someone who ran around the streets frightening innocents in his attempt at vengeance. He knew Wade was there, somewhere, but he also wasn't stupid, that anger that Wade had somehow let take over was stronger than any rational sense.

**Mj:**

**Hey! So I hope you're alright and your classes aren't too boring. I'll be waiting at your apartment like always, with food!**

Peter hadn't really had any reaction to the message. They had basically worked out a bit of a routine now and it was normal for MJ to be waiting at home for him with a cooked meal. It was how she showed she cared, you could say he kind of understood the gesture. He showed his care by showing up every night even if he wasn't really in the mood for company, he wouldn't let her down.

He had decided that day that it may have been better to skip his last classes and go out as Spiderman for a while before dinner. He wasn't concentrating anyway so it was useless being in class. This way he would actually be able to distract himself from everything that had happened the previous night.

Well. That hadn't quite gone as planned.

As it turned out, going out as Spiderman, distracted, wasn't all that great an idea. He ended up with a lovely shiner from a lowly purse snatcher when he had been caught off guard trying to both calm the woman down (who was in the midst of a panic attack and trying to grab the handbag back!) and trying to slip the handbag away from the crook without having to do too much damage to him.

The man had turned around full speed and elbowed him right in the eye. He was pretty surprised it didn't pop out of its socket the hit was so hard, the plastic of his lenses creaking and _thankfully_ not breaking on impact.

He had managed to get the bag away from the guy either way and had called the police.

After that it was all just kind of downhill from there. From nearly getting shot, the bullet _just_ grazing past his right arm, leaving a nice burn mark on his skin, to nearly getting trampled by a stampede of people leaving the train station to get away from a suicide bomber.

Peter would like to say that he had stopped that one, but of course that wasn't the type of day he was having. No, no, he managed to run into Black Widow and Hawkeye taking the guy down before he could even wrap his mind around a plan of action.

As he had said before, the Avengers weren't exactly his biggest fans but at least Hawkeye usually traded some witty banter with him and Natasha had stopped looking like she was going to stab him in the neck and just more along the lines of maybe kicking him in the shin.

Today, however, seemed different.

“Oh, hey guys! Thanks for helpin’ out, not really at my most amazing today.” Peter chuckled awkwardly, walking towards the two agents as they secured cuffs on the bomber.

Natasha looked stoic as always, but it was the menacing look on Clints face that had him stopping from moving any closer to them.

“Ah, hey, everything okay?”

Clint’s lip quirked up at the side for a second as if he was somehow amused by the question.

“Yeah, it's all good man, just wondering where your buddy Deadpool is?”

Peter's eyes widened and he took a small step backwards. “So, I uh, guess Tony filled you guys in?”

Not that there was much to fill them in on but knowing Tony, he had probably been dramatic about it.

“Yup.” Clint popped the ‘p’, refusing to look in Peter's direction as he hauled the cuffed man to his feet.  
“Never figured you for a mercenaries sidekick.”

“Woah, what the hell did Tony tell you?” Peter grit out, he hadn't even seen Wade! In ages! Why was he being lugged together with him?

“Just that you too are somehow connected, that you know each other.” Natasha answered back calmly, a light shrug on her shoulders. “It's… suspicious.”

Peter's hands curled into fists at his sides. “How so?”

“Well, you know each other from before you were both active. You both became active around about the same time. Deadpool is a little more upfront about what he's up to though.”

Peter gaped at the agents. Clint wasn't defending him, in fact, it kind of looked like he actually agreed with Natasha's statement.

“You think we're working together!?” He squeaked. That, was not the most flattering thing the Avengers had said to him and they hadn't really ever said anything too nice to him to begin with.

“Like we said.” Clint said in a strained voice, it almost looked as if he had been betrayed somehow and Peter was the one that had done it. “It's suspicious. Especially since you keep trying to get into our good books all the time.”

“Well then I guess you guys can now finally have a reason why you don't want me around instead of making stuff up all the time!”

Peter was furious. Somehow, they had turned this all on him and he was now some double agent pretending to be a good guy? They thought he and Deadpool were working together to do… what exactly? Overthrow the Avengers? Even if such a thing were possible, what the heck was Peter supposed to get out of that?

“We didn't want you around because you're too young and obviously reckless!” Clint clipped back, his jaw was tense and Natasha was inching closer towards him, given him comfort by proximity alone.

“You didn't seem to care about that before. Glad to know the Avengers are more the ‘guilty until proven innocent’ types.”

“Well we are.” Clint dragged the bomber up by the scruff of his jacket and dragged him past Peter, leaving the younger a little awestruck.

Natasha walked past casually but had the decency to at least have a minuscule amount of sheepishness about her. “Sorry kid.”

 

* * *

 

 

Peter decided to swing home after that rather fantastic end to his already fantastic day.

Tony had obviously told all the Avengers some long winded story to make Clint mad at him. He'd always liked Clint, he seemed to be somewhat more understanding and accepting than the others.

He didn't quite blame the other man for getting angry at possibly being deceived by one of his ‘friends’ -if he even saw Peter as a friend-, Peter would guess he'd have felt the same.

He didn't expect Tony to rat on him like that though. The man was one of his idols but he was seriously starting to rethinking that.

The sun had already gone down and Peter was exhausted. His mind had been running all day, his arms and legs were bone tired from all the swinging and fighting, he was just tired in a whole other way.

As he swung towards his apartment he could see that the lights were on, meaning Mj was probably already making dinner. He desperately wanted to talk to someone about everything that had happened, all his frustration but at the same time, he just didn't want to have to be around anyone.

He hated those kinds of days, where no matter who it was, human interaction just wasn't on the table. Straining a smile when someone said something funny, not because it wasn't funny but because he was just too tired to show emotion, too tired to react to anything anyone said, too tired to respond beyond humming that he was indeed listening, or at least trying to anyway.

And then, the other person would always ask what was wrong. Trying to force conversation out of him. And yes he guessed that sometimes there was actually something wrong but other times, he just, couldn't do people anymore for the day. It was draining.

Despite those feelings, he still managed to plant a small smile on his face for MJ as he climbed through the window and removed his mask.

She was running around the kitchen looking for something, opening and closing drawers and cursing when she couldn't find whatever it was.

She started a bit when she turned around and saw Peter standing sheepishly in the middle of the room but quickly composed herself and rushed for her jacket on the coat rack.

“Okay so dinner isn't ready yet, I forgot a few things, I'm going to have to run out quick and get them. Please watch the stuff in the oven!” She was talking quickly and he couldn't really keep up but he mumbled a small “Alright.” Anyway.

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her, thankfully she was in too much of a rush to notice the black eye he had been sporting.

He took a moment to glance around the empty room, the place actually seeming lived in with the kitchen in a mess and the oven humming in the background. It was comforting, although there was a smell in the air that had him crinkling his nose, not quite liking the fact that it was probably going to stick around for a day or two. He'd have to avoid the kitchen area.

He sighed loudly and allowed himself to slump as he trudged his way into the bedroom, peeling off his suit and hissing at the tender ribs and the burn mark on his arm where the bullet had grazed through his suit. He'd have to fix the tear but it definitely would not be tonight.

He rubbed some cold water gently over his arm, a light bruise forming around the burn mark, and then dabbed his eye gently with a cold cloth, before putting on some sweatpants and dragging out his most comfortable sweater, feeling like he wanted to bundle up for the next few weeks.

Peter glanced at the potatoes baking in the oven and the chicken fillets waiting on the counter for whatever MJ had in mind for them. He thought about ‘accidentally’ turning the oven too high and burning the potatoes to a crisp but instantly felt like an asshole for even thinking of doing such a thing. MJ was kind enough to make him dinner and he couldn't be grateful enough to eat it.

He sat down at the table and placed his head lightly on his arms, maybe he could sneak in just a little nap…

Just as he was about to close his eyes there was a loud scuffle and crash at the window, having him on his feet in seconds, eyes wide and his body in an attack stance.

“Mother _hugger_!” Came the gruff voice as the perpetrator tumbled along the ground holding their wrist, obviously having falling on it upon entry.

Peter's brain took a while to take in the scene, his mouth opening and closing multiple times before his hands went to his hair and his eyes widened further.

“What. The hell!?” He shrieked as he watched Deadpool roll around the floor muttering about how shitty it was to heal splintered bone.

“Dude, your whole window set up sucks! The next person who tries to break in here is gonna break a leg! Or their neck! You should be ashamed to call yourself a good guy!”

Peter just gaped at the Merc as he stumbled to his feet, rolling his wrist obviously checking that the bones had healed appropriately. The older man glanced around the room, still muttering to himself but Peter couldn't catch any of it, his mind having gone into full panic mode.

Eventually the Merc turned towards the younger man and tilted his head, waving excitedly. “Hey Petey! Nice Shiner.”

“This is a nightmare.” He muttered, his voice going up in pitch and dragging his hands out of his hair to lean against the table at his side. “I fell asleep at the table and now I'm having a nightmare.”

“Weeeell _actually_ -.”

“Because.” Peter interrupted, pointing a finger at the other man. “You wouldn't actually be stupid enough, to follow me home and then break into said home. Where I live. Where I sleep, where _anyone_ could have seen you crawl into that window!”

“I mean, I thought you knew me a little better than that cause did you just say I'm not actually that stupid?”

Peter pushed himself away from the table, his feet carrying him towards the Merc, hands up in front of him. “You can't be here.”

“Awe don't you even want to know why I'm here?” Deadpool asked in a loud whine

Peter shook his head quickly, pushing the Merc towards the window despite all his instincts recoiling from the action and not actually wanting to lay hands on the other man at all. “No. No I don't care, you got me in huge trouble! You are trouble! You. Can't. Be here!”

“Oh shit, did you get into trouble with Tin Man?” Deadpool asked as he plants his feet firmly on the ground, halting Peter slightly in his movements.

“Yes! They think we're working together now! Thanks for that by the way! It's not like I was trying to get on their good side or anything!”

“Pft! Those big babies are such a waste of time anyway, think I kinda did you a favour.”

Peter scowled and continued to drag the Merc towards the window. “You really didn't. Now get out.”

He actually felt a little violated having Wade in his apartment. It was his place, the one place where he could go to get away from all the stress everything brought him! Okay to be fair he brought his stress home with him more often than not but that didn't mean he wanted it actually standing in the middle of his living room!

“Ew.” Deadpool dragged out the word, moving out of Peter's hold, causing the younger man to stumble forward. “What's that smell?”

Peter gaped as the Merc walked casually into the kitchen area like he owned the place and stared into the oven. “Are those potatoes!? And _spinach_! Okay so I know you would never cook that crap so can't you just give your little lady friend a ‘no, no’ list?”

“Deadpool, listen to me-.”

“Wade.”

Peter ignored the correction. It didn't feel right calling the man in front of him by the name of his former friend. He wanted to separate the two as much as he possibly could.

“I'll admit, I still have stuff to say to you, but you really need to leave before-”

The door opened just then, MJ shuffling into the apartment, arms full with grocery bags. “Okay so I think I actually got everything this time, you wouldn't believe the line at this time of night though…”

MJ trailed off as she got to the kitchen table, setting down the groceries slowly and staring warily at the Masked man by the oven.

She glanced at Peter with a neutral expression but Peter could see the fright in her eyes. “Pete…?”

Deadpool rushed forward at that moment causing both Peter and MJ to tense and take a step back and forward respectively. Deadpool eyed the two of them before extending his hand carefully, as if only just then noticing the tension in the room.

“Well hey there! Names-”

“Wade.” MJ muttered, eyes wide, staring down at the hand offered to her as if it might just hold something sinister. “Right?”

She reached out and shook the Mercs hand anyway, making Peter suck in a sharp breath and moving closer towards the two, planning to put distance between them.

“MJ, this is Deadpool.” Peter said lowly, moving in between them and shoving the other man's hand away. “He was just leaving.”

The Merc seemed to completely ignore Peter's attempt to get him out of the apartment, instead craning his head to peer at the woman over Peter's shoulder. He really wished the mask the man wore wasn't as expressive as it was.

“And MJ is…?” He asked tauntingly.

“We’re, ah, she's-.” Peter remembered at that moment that he had never actually introduced MJ as his girlfriend before, everyone just seemed to assume that was what they were and if not well MJ had always been the one to say it.

“We’re together.” MJ stated matter of factly. Her face still neutral but her eyes seemed to hold a barely contained disdain for the man in the mask.  
Besides what she had seen and heard about him on to tv, Peter had let it slip a while ago in his panic that he had known Deadpool once upon a time. What she had gotten from that confession he didn't really know but he had been worried that he had spoken about the man with a little too much emotion for her to just pass him off as an old friend.

Deadpool hummed at MJs words, turning his eyes towards Peter as if he expected the younger man to confirm what she had said.

Peter only glared back, letting Deadpool see that he knew what the man was playing at and he wasn't going to encourage it. He moved MJ quickly to the other side of the room, wanting to talk to her away from the man for two seconds.

Peter held her by the sides of her arms and brought her gaze away from the Merc and towards himself.

“MJ could I just, ah, have a moment with him please.”

“You want a moment alone with the mercenary?” MJ asked with a raised eyebrow.

Peter tried to formulate what he was supposed to tell her but was getting distracted by Deadpool's singing in the background.

_“When you look with your eyes, everything seems nice, but if you look twice, you can see it's all lies.”_

Peter glared over his shoulder at the Merc, who just smirked and fluttered his fingers at the two of them in greeting.

Peter sighed and turned back to MJ with pleading eyes. “Please.”

She looked over Peter's shoulder and then back at him, the worry on her face was clear now but it was always obvious that she trusted Peter's judgment, even if sometimes she didn't quite trust his ability to handle most other things.

“Just get him out of here Pete.” She replied calmly, eyebrows raised as if she were just asking Peter to ask the guest that had stayed too long at the party to kindly go home.

He released his hands from the sides of her arms and waited until she had closed the bedroom door before he turned on Deadpool.

“You have one minute.” He said sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“She seems lovely by the way, real looker.”

“ _Deadpool_.” Peter growled out warningly.

“No seriously. Good job. Knew you had it in you… is that mine by the way?” Deadpool asked as he pointed at Peter.

Peter frowned before he looked down at himself, taking in the sight of the large, maroon sweater he had dragged on when he got home.

Wade's sweater. He was wearing Wade's sweater.

He felt a blush creeping up his neck and into his cheeks as he eyed Deadpool. If he could have died right then and there it would have been really helpful. He’d honestly kept the sweater way longer than was healthy but he couldn’t help if the thing was so comfortable! MJ had made comments about how old and worn it was but had eventually given up after she realised he had no intentions of parting with it.

Instead of answering the Merc though, he squared his shoulders and glared. “j-just, get to the point, please.”

Deadpool went quiet for a minute, seemingly studying the younger man. It made Peter a little uncomfortable, knowing how how Wade’s mind could ramble on at times, who knew what the voices were saying this time.

Deadpool raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I just wanted to let you know that someone's been starting up Superhero Classes again.”

Peter's heart sank and his arms loosened from his chest and dropped back to his sides. “What?”

“Yeah, I thought you might wanna know, especially since they're apparently looking for us now. You might want to hide your friend back there.” The man replied coolly, nodding towards the bedroom door where MJ had just gone through. “You know they have a tendency of… using people.”

He said the last part softly, not needing to emphasize what he meant. They had both been through enough of their torture to know what happens when you have someone you care about within arms reach.

“Are you going to go after them?” Peter asked shakily, he could feel his hands starting to tremble at the thought of those people getting hold of him again, of them getting hold of _anyone_ and continuing what they had started.

“Guess I gotta.” Deadpool shrugged nonchalantly, picking at the cutlery on the table.

“I heard you killed Francis.”

Peter's statement seemed to throw Wade off a bit and the Merc glanced up at him with a bit of surprise before nodding slowly.

“Yup. Well someone needed to and you sure as hell weren't going to so…”

“You're right, I wouldn't have.” Peter shot back, somehow feeling affronted by the other man's statement.

Deadpool groaned. “Uuuuggghhhh! You seriously gonna do that? Act like I'm such a bad guy?”

Deadpool moved forward so that he was right in Peter's face. “Look me in the eyes and tell me hearing about his death wasn't satisfying to you!”

“The only thing that was satisfying was hearing that you were the one that got to do it!” Peter growled back.

His eyes widened as Deadpool tilted his head and stared at Peter intently. “I- I mean-.”

“I'll get the rest of ‘em.” Deadpool said carefully, staring at Peter with the same intense look he had been shifting to ever few seconds since he had crawled in through the window and then instantly shifted again and smiled brightly down at the younger man “Not to worry young one Pooly’s got ya covered!”

The way the Merc jumped from emotion to emotion like that almost gave Peter whiplash. Wade had been the same sometimes at the facility, often catching himself in a too serious moment and then trying to backtrack on it with a stupid comment or joke. Peter had always noticed though, just like he had now.

“You can come out now Red! I'm leavin’!” Deadpool called across the room before looking back at Peter and holding up a card in front of his face.

“Call me.” Deadpool sing songed slapping the card on the table and skipping over to the window, sliding one leg out as MJ returned from the bedroom and stood next to Peter, the two of them waiting with baited breath for the man to leave.

Deadpool stopped midway out the window and seemed to be thinking about something before he turned back to face them, MJ in particular.

“He doesn't like potatoes and spinach by the way. Bad memories.”

The Merc quickly climbed the rest of the way out the window, leaving Peter with his face in his hands as MJ eyed the food in the kitchen with disappointment.

Not a great day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I just wanted to thank all of you who comment and gave me kudos! I love this story (my baby!) and it really makes my day seeing others are enjoying it too (^_^)
> 
> I am also warning you guys in advance that I'm not sure when I will be updating again as I'm moving countries tomorrow!!! So hopefully I'll have some time where I can get the fic moving along soon but just letting you know it may be a little longer than usual.
> 
> Oh and the song Wade is singing is LDN by Lily Allen. For some reason I see him enjoying her style XD


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna skip the apologies because I did warn it was gonna be a while! (But yeah I feel just a tad guilty!)

Peter wasn't entirely sure which part of the situation he should have addressed first. He could have gone either way, maybe speak about how it was possible for Wade to have that much confidence that he could just walk into Peter's home and it not be the next world war, or maybe touch on the fact that he had actually seen Wade the previous day and that was how he had probably found Peter at home in the first place.

But no, the first thing out of his mouth was;

“I really don't mind the potatoes all that much anymore.”

He kept his gaze on the floor, not knowing whether it was a good time to interact with MJ or not and not knowing what he was supposed to say in the situation. It wasn't everyday a deadly mercenary came into your home and criticized your not-girlfriends cooking.

MJ didn't reply right away though, she was still looking towards the window Deadpool had crawled out of.

Eventually they would have to talk about it though. MJ overlooked a lot of things about Peter, the way he acted or flinched at weird things or got visibly uncomfortable if he could hear running water in a different room, had trouble breathing after everyday interactions, but this, she may not be able to overlook as easily.

She sighed, the sound making Peter feel guilty, it sounded tired. He often forgot that she had busy days too, that she may have other stuff going on with her family at home. MJ didn't really like to go home that often and he knew some of what was going on but he’ll admit that he was sometimes a bit too caught up in his own head to ask.

“Peter, could you just… could you tell me what's going on? Why was he here? You said he was just someone that had gotten his powers the same way you did. You made it seem like you only just kind of knew him. This…” she gestured towards the window with a small shake of her head, as if she was still trying to believe it was all happening. “Pete this was all way too familiar. You two were too familiar.”

Peter frowned at the way MJ had phrased that. “Too familiar?”

MJ huffed and scrunched up her nose as if trying to find better words. “You know what I mean! Like you were closer than you lead me to believe! And I don't understand, why would something like that matter to you?”

Peter didn't miss the way MJ asked the question, as if she already knew some sort of answer and just wanted Peter to be the one to say it. The tone of voice confused him because he had only meant not to make a big deal out of all of it. Wade had been a big part of his daily life not too long ago but he wasn't anymore, what would be the point of trying to hang on to that or try to bring that past to life with everyone he was close with now?

It just seemed unnecessary to him. Harry knew, but then again, Harry knew a lot because he was a relentless brat that never let Peter off the hook until most things were explained. But even Harry didn't know everything because Peter had formed a mental block against sharing his life story.

He tried to search for words, explanation, but everything he had planned on saying just sounded stupid in his head so it would probably sound even worse being said out loud considering how horrible Peter's brain to mouth filter was.

MJ seemed somewhat patient while Peter thought of his response but he had started to notice small things recently that made it seem as though she was not as patient as she may have been in the past.

Her nose would wrinkle slightly, as if wanting to say something but actively tried to stop herself, when in the past her face had remained neutral, serene.

She would fidget with her fingers as if she was now just anxious to get any sort of answer she could out of him.

Peter noticed these small things but he wouldn't fault her for them. MJ had the patience of a saint with him but he knew that he could only test it for so long before it started to become unfair. Before MJ started to notice that it was unfair.

“I just think…” Peter started off small, not wanting to create problems, not wanting to make light of the situation but also not wanting to hurt someone he cared about in any way. “Maybe I need some time to think?”

Peter glanced up and searched MJ’s face for signs that she was bordering on hurt but didn't find anything, her face had gone back to the neutral, serene expression he had seen in the past, so he continued.

“I’m really confused with a lot of stuff right now, everything is just getting more and more ridiculous and I just need to… catch my breath.”

Peter stared at MJ with wide eyes, begging her to be understanding. “I promise, when I figure it out, how to explain, how to talk about it, MJ I'll explain it but I- I’m just not really sure I can right now.”

He wished he was a little more articulate, maybe like he used to be. It seemed as if words had come so easily to him in the past, before everything that had happened, and it would frustrate him to no ends because he _knew_ he had never had that much trouble explaining himself in the past, remembering simple words or phrases to make it easier for others to understand him.

But now, despite still being able to at least keep up with his school work, his mind still felt so sluggish and sometimes he just wished, for the sake of everyone that had to hear him speak and try to explain himself, that he could just have a way to make his brain work faster or at least at the speed it should be working.

MJ stayed quiet, searching Peter's face as if looking for the words he couldn't explain to her. As if she may somehow be able to draw them out of him if she was patient enough.

He saw her pull in a long breath through her nose, her shoulders hitching slightly when she did so before she spoke. “Alright, this is what's going to happen okay?”

MJ stared at Peter until he nodded quickly, showing her that she had his attention.

MJ nodded slowly herself before continuing. “I'm going to finish the dinner, minus the potatoes and whatever else you don't actually eat and in the future you are actually going to let people know you don't eat something! And we're going to just relax and eat and then… I'm going to go home.”

Peter's eyes widened at the statement and he would have protested that MJ didn't _have_ _to_ leave but her expression was letting him know that she wasn't done speaking.

“And you're going to figure this all out… and when you're ready and know what's up and what's down, you'll call me and we'll set up a time and place and just… talk. Alright?”

Peter swallowed the lump that had been sitting in his throat throughout the entire conversation and nodded his understanding.

MJ was going to leave. She was going to leave him alone in the apartment to… think.

The one thing that he had been actively trying to avoid for so long, but, surprisingly he didn't feel nervous, or scared, he wasn't panicking the way he usually would at the prospect of being left alone with his thoughts.

He actually felt pretty calm, almost relieved, as if his mind was letting out its own sigh of relief at the fact that he was going to mull some things over, sort out the clutter that was his brain.

It felt strange but for the first time in a long time he actually looked forward to going to sleep, felt that he would actually be able to sleep properly.

He'd probably need to reevaluate that once MJ had left and he was actually on his own with the creepy old apartment sounds but for now, he felt confident that he could do it.

The night went exactly as MJ had said. They ate dinner, Peter ate his minus all things he didn't like for once. He had maybe fibbed about having gotten used to the potatoes. He honestly felt nauseous every time he ate them but MJ didn't need to know that.

They actually managed to talk more than usual, the night running through smoothly, like they were back in high school, like they were just two small time friends catching up on school or the little things that had happened in their lives.

It felt like Peter wasn't pretending. Like he wasn't pretending he was something more to MJ than what he really was. They were just friends.

MJ joked around and nudged at his shoulder when he attempted an incredibly lame joke, or rolled her eyes when he got flustered and couldn't get his words out properly. It was friendly. That was the only word Peter could use to describe it, and he liked it.

It was almost like a switch had been flipped and he was pretty certain that it wasn't him who had switched it.

At the end of the night he had helped MJ clean up the kitchen and wash the dishes before she grabbed her overnight bag from his room and he walked her to the door.

She opened the door and stood between the apartment and the hallway, smiling at him in a way he hadn't seen from her in a while, only just then realizing that she had been smiling at him differently at all.

“Well Tiger this is it. You gonna be a big boy and get yourself to bed alright?”

Her tone was full of playful condescension as she pouted at him and nodded her head as if addressing a child.

Peter frowned at her in return which only made her laugh.

“You'll be fine Pete, just let me know if you need anything!”

Peter felt his stomach tighten as he stared at his friend in appreciation, silently acknowledging everything she had done for him over the past few months, realizing that even if he did sort his thoughts out and attempt to put them into words, he wasn't quite sure he'd be able to express his gratitude to her.

“Thanks MJ.” He said softly instead, trying to express the emotions through his eyes as much as he could.

Something, almost sad looking, flickered through MJs expression but it was gone before he could quite figure out what it was. She quickly replaced the expression with a bright smile. “Of course Pete.”

She hugged him tightly around his shoulders, drawing him tighter than she usually would have, the hug feeling somewhat desperate, or final somehow in a way he couldn't quite pinpoint, all he knew was that it made his throat run dry as he hugged her back, pulling her in just as tight and burying his nose in the crook of her neck.

Nothing else was said as they let go and MJ gave him one last bright smile before disappearing down the hallway.

He watched her walk down the hallway until she disappeared around the corner and then stood there a while longer for what, he wasn't too sure, before eventually closing the door and turning to his empty apartment.

His heart sank a little and his breathing picked up slightly at the emptiness, the darkness from his room where the lights had been switched off, the dripping of the tap from the kitchen faucet he could never seem to fix, the creaking of the old wooden floorboards as the place felt like it was settling in for the night.

“Don't be a baby.” Peter admonished himself, setting his shoulders and walking straight for his bedroom and quickly switching on the light, his breath hitching and his eyes scanning the room for a monster he logically knew would never be there.

He breathed out heavily through his nose and began his nightly routine before bed; changing his clothes, switching out all the lights in the apartment and curling into the bed, the side lamp still glowing and casting an ominous glow around the room as Peter settled in.

“Okay. You can do this. No use being afraid of the dark this late on in life.” He mumbled to himself as he reached for the side lamp and turned the light out.

He could instantly feel his pulse start to race, his senses on high alert and starting to pick up all the little things he had not heard when the light was on. It was as if everything was suddenly louder in the apartment, every creak, every drip, maybe he couldn't do this, maybe he was doomed to be an insomniac for the rest of his life. Even his Spidey sense buzzed lowly in the back of his head when he got like this, just further adding to his restlessness because he couldn't even trust his super sense anymore.

He couldn't believe that it was happening again. He wasn't even sure what he was afraid of, what was there.

“There's _nothing_ there!” Peter growled out into the darkness, realizing his paranoia was the quickest way to ensure nightmares as soon as he closed his eyes and fell asleep, if he even _did_ fall asleep!

He groaned in utter frustration at himself and tossed his hand back over to the side lamp and flicked the switch back on. His heart was still racing and his Spidey sense was still a low buzz in the background but he was breathing a little easier.

“You're ridiculous Parker.” He continued to mumble at the ceiling. “Honestly, worst. Adult. Ever!”

He brought the blankets up past his chin as if somehow shielding himself from what, he was very clearly trying to convince himself, was not there!

He could feel his eyes prickle with frustrated, unshed tears as he began to believe that he was never going to be able to get sleep on his own. “Why are you _like_ this?” He sighed, wiping his eyes and sniffing.

He was very ready to just give into his emotions and maybe have a good cry about it all and then go back to being paranoid afterwards but he felt himself stilling as music flowed through his window. It was rough and pretty loud considering it had to have been coming from the building across from his.

He listened closely and let out an amused huff, still whiping the tears away from his eyes, as he hummed along to the corny club song he hadn't heard in years. He was pretty impressed (or horrified) that someone actually had Basshunter in their personal collection.

His Spidey sense started to fizzle further into the background as the music continued to flow into his room, not too loud but loud enough that he felt like he wasn't really alone, like it filled up the empty spaces around him, like if anything were to happen, there was actually someone out there, it made him feel like there was someone close by. It was comforting.

He sighed deeply and smiled to himself as he reached back over to the side lamp and flipped the switch, once again casting the room in darkness but this time he was able to focus on the music playing across the street instead of the quiet noise of the apartment. He snuggled deeper into the blankets and closed his eyes, for once finding sleep pulling him in easily.

Across the street, on top of a scarily dilapidated building, Wade smiled only a little cockily to himself as he watched the light in Peter's room turn off again.

He leaned his weight to the side on his hand and turned the sound up on the stereo system he had lugged up onto the building's rooftop. He was definitely going to be hearing a few complaints very soon but it wasn't something a few threats and displays of his macho masculinity wouldn't solve.

“Still a big 'ol baby when it comes to bed time I see.” He chuckled to himself before continuing to sing along with the music.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a shorter chapter, but to be honest I'm actually surprised I got it out this early (I know it's been forever!) lots of stuff going on guys, chapters will take longer to post, I am currently living with 5 new roommates so it's a bit distracting and I'm still settling but I'm gonna try my best!
> 
> Oh yeah and the song is "now you're gone" by Basshunter. It's a little ironic and I only realized after I decided to use it hah!
> 
> Thanks for the support for the story guys you're all so amazing <3


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly this wasn't supposed to be it's own chapter. The story is out of my control now (-_-).   
> I'm kinda hoping that the story doesn't feel like it's dragging out, I realize it's pretty long as it is but every time I start writing I just always end up adding more than intended!   
> Anyway, once again thank you for all the support, your comments have honestly been friggen amazing and I wish I could do the awkward hug thing with all of you!
> 
> Ps: I haven't read over this enough yet so haven't found all the mistakes. I know it reads a bit weird, especially the texts, I just couldn't get in the right head space for that kinda thing lately but I really wanted to get this chapter out!

Peter could blame the fact that he had actually gotten a good night's rest and what he was seeing was some sort of hallucination from his brain freaking out cause it was so well rested.

Being a man of science though he had to admit that that was a bit of stretch and that Deadpool had actually, somehow managed to get his number.

**Unknown** :

**Heeeeeeeey! Soooo I was thinkin’ we should probably get a move on with those weirdos looking for us and maybe break a leg or two (their legs of course but no promises that it won't be my own HAH!) just to make sure they know we're like not interested in their daycare services anymore**.

**Unknown:**

**Just a thought**

**Unknown:**

**Ya know. In case you didn't feel like getting snatched up again**

**Unknown:**

**I can always provide the other type of snatching up though if you need it ;)**

Peter didn't need a name behind the messages to know who it was from, besides the flirting he kind of recognized the mannerisms in the text.  
Wade had a thing for overdoing it.

Despite everything in himself telling him to let Deadpool know that he should handle it without Peter and maybe stop contact with him all together, he still couldn't quite help himself.

**Peter:**

**No thanks. Think I'm good.**

Peter sent the message with a little flutter in his chest as he thought the message may have been a bit lacking considering he had so much else to reply to and say.

He really hated texting.

**Peter:**

**Should I even ask how you got my number?**

**Unknown >Deadpool**

**Just know that it was way too fuckin easy. Are you even trying?!?**

Peter glared down at his phone. It wasn't like he'd really had to worry about his number getting out to some random by mistake. He didn't think it meant anything with regards to his identity but now that Deadpool had mentioned it…

Peter groaned as he felt himself start to get anxious. It could be possible he'd left a few gaps open but he hadn't thought any of them (like his number) were a problem. Were they? He didn't even know, he didn't know that kind of stuff. Peter glared back at his phone again as his heart rate quickened, easily being able to pass the blame for his anxiety into someone else.

**Deadpool > Stupidhead**

**Peter:**

**So I'm going to change my number now. Bye.**

**Stupidhead:**

**Awh! Don't be like that! I had a fun outing planned for us and everything!  
#spandexbrosforlife**

**Stupidhead:**

**I mean. I don't wear spandex but I couldn't come up with anything better.**

Peter felt his lip twitch against his will and he quickly shoved whatever he was feeling down and replaced it with exasperation that wasn't hard to summon up.

**Peter:**

**I'm not sure me helping you track these people down is going to do any good**

**Stupidhead:**

**Awh don't doubt yourself like that little guy! You'll at least be a liiiittle bit of use.**

**Stupidhead:**

**Maybe**

Peter sputtered.

**Stupidhead >Condescendingstupidhead**

**Peter:**

**I** **meant.**

**I don't think it's a good idea for us to work together. At all. Ever.**

**Peter** :

**Just no**.

**Condescendingstupidhead**

**Ah...WHY?? We'd be super cool together! Tots amaze.  
We'd definitely be the best superhero duo out there by far!**

**Peter:**

**No we wouldn't be because you're not a superhero. You're a mercenary and I'd rather not be seen with you.**

**Condescendingstupidhead:**

**Uhm, okay. Rude. So you're clearly still hung up on all that.**

**Peter:**

**The Avengers already think we're working together. I'm already in the dog house because of you and I'd rather not fan the flames!**

**Condescendingstupidhead:**

**No one says stuff like “fan the flames” anymore so that's probably one of the reasons The world's greatest boy band won't let you hang with them**

Peter could actual feel himself getting a headache he was clenching his teeth so hard. He didn't need this. All he wanted to do was relax and maybe do some patrolling later on. He didn't want to have to put up with Deadpool. He still wasn't even sure he knew how to properly handle the guy anymore. So many things must have changed, he just wasn't sure he would be up to it.

**Peter:**

**Do it yourself Deadpool**

**Condescendingstupidhead:**

**If these people are tracking you down and there’s a small chance they find someone else first before they get to you then what?**

Peter sucked in a breath and stilled at the comment.

**Condescendingstupidhead:**

**I can't watch EVERYONE**

Peter instantly felt guilty that he hadn't even been thinking about those who were close to him. Those who at least knew where he had been, who he really was. They would definitely be targeted, that was just how these things went.

But what did Deadpool mean by he couldn't watch everyone? Did everyone mean the bad guys or the people in Peter's life? Either way… he felt even more guilty at the prospect of Deadpool keeping an eye on the situation for Peter in any way just because Peter couldn't suck it up.

**Peter:**

**What are we supposed to do?**

**Condescendingstupidhead:**

**Yay! Kay well I have a tip off from a peep of mine and I should have the address by later tonight.**

**Peter:**

**Let me know. I'll be there.**

**Condescendingstupidhead:**

**See ya later Baby boy!**

Peter couldn't help but smile a little at the nick name. There was so much behind it, for him at least, that it was kind of weird seeing/hearing it again. He silently hoped that he could get through this without everything from his past coming up again.

**Condescendingstupidhead > Deadpool**

 

Wade stared down at his phone.

**Spideyboy:**

**See ya**

He wasn't entirely sure why he was feeling the way he was but he did know that it scared him a little. It had scared him a little when Peter had refused to work with him and it scared him now when the younger man had agreed to.

He could feel his mind racing a mile a minute as he thought about working so closely with the other man now. He had thought about making stuff up to Peter a long time ago but he'd soon after convinced himself that that was just a bad idea and he should leave the boy alone indefinitely.

But now, he was getting those same feelings again. Like he needed to make up for something. That he needed to apologise, make things right.

_Haven't we had this mental discussion before?_

**Yeah, quick recap: WE DID NOTHING WRONG!**

“So then why do I feel like this?” Wade muttered out into the dark of his apartment.

_Because you're clinically insane?_

“I mean… yeah, okay, but I dunno, I just, I know somehow this is a bad idea bringing him into it but at the same time he needed to know… right?”

**Nah dude that's just Weasel gettin in your head.**

“No. Weas was right. Peter needed to know, there was no way he would have been okay with me handling something to do with him on my own, even if he didn't want to help at first I know he would have whined about not being told.”

_It's not like he was going to find out_

**Yeah, you make it sound like we were all going to go for brunch and play catch up after this is all over**

Wade tried not to admit it aloud, but something inside of him actually liked the sound of that. It was comforting and familiar in a way he knew he had once felt but… that was before he'd lost his shit.

“Well. He did promise to fix me.” Wade whispered, remembering all the times Peter had said that, had promised with everything in him that he would make Wade better.

**Hah! As if anything could fix this ugly train wreck situation. You're stuck with us cupcake.**

_Somehow I doubt you're bringing him into this just because he promised to fix you_

Wade shifted uncomfrotably on the sofa, running his hand over the textured surface. "Why else would I do it?" 

  
Sometime last year:

  
Wade woke up with a start, his mouth and throat dry and his hands trembling. He didn't need to be told he had probably been yelling in his sleep again.

He rubbed his hands up and down his face, hissing as he accidentally rubbed against the new sores that had opened up. He kept forgetting he needed to be careful now when he did simple things like drag a hand down his face, or scratch an itch. Everything hurt now, he wouldn't want to make it that much worse.

His hand fell down hard next to him, startling him as he remembered he was actually sharing that bed. More surprising, however, was the fact that he hadn't accidentally hit Peter, because the younger man wasn't there.

Wade's heart rate went up immediately at the sight of the empty space next to him, the spot where the younger man usually lay didn't even feel warm to the touch anymore.

“Peter?” The words came out in a hoarse whisper, the apartment feeling too quiet to speak any louder.

There was no answer and under normal circumstances Wade would have understood considering he had called out so softly but the kid had friggen super hearing!

Panic was starting to cling to Wade's movements as he shuffled himself out of bed trying to make as little noise as possible. He had woken up panicked already so it hadn't taken much for the new situation to latch on to that.

He creeped slowly out of the room and into the living area, only to stop dead when he noticed a soft sigh and some movement coming from the sofa.

Instead of becoming more panicked, his heart rate actually slowed, his own relieved sigh leaving his lips as he stared down at the body on the sofa below him.

Peter obviously hadn’t been able to find a blanket that was even near useful because he had just thrown one of Wade's large trenches he had hung up by the door over his shoulders. He'd have to remind Peter that he hadn't been home in a while so those jackets probably needed a good wash.

Peter was curled in on himself, obviously trying to draw heat from his own body as a shiver ran through him every now and again as Wade watched.

At first glance, Wade would have thought the other man looked kind of serene as he slept but he knew if he looked closer he'd see the clenched jaw and the frown that always seemed to crease the younger man's brow now. Neither of them slept peacefully anymore and Wade doubted that they ever would.

He was surprised to have found Peter sleeping on his own though, considering how hard it was for him to get to sleep and it was going to kill him a little to do what he was about to do but he couldn't let Peter sleep on the sofa… again.

He stepped around the boy gingerly, position himself close but just in the right position to be able to get out of the way of a flying fist if he needed to. There would be no way of carrying the other man back to the bed without him possibly freaking out if he woke up.

“Pete?” Wade cooed softly, lightly tracing his fingers through the soft brown locks that may be in need of a little shampoo and conditioner.

“Come on Petey wake up.”

Peter seemed to jolt slightly, his eyes going wide and his body reacting on instinct, pushing himself back away from Wade and trying to get deeper into the sofa cushions.

“Hey, hey, it's alright Baby boy, just me.” Wade shushed gently, his hand moving from Peter's hair to the side of his face so that the Merc could run his thumb along the boys cheek. The movement seemed to calm the both of them.

“Wa-.” Peter cleared his throat, having barely squeaked out the first part of Wade's name since he still seemed to be trying to wake himself up.

“Wade? What's wrong?”

Wade noticed that the question was a little frantic as usual, they could never seem to calm down over the last few days, it was going to take a while for either of them to stop having fear and worry as their first reaction to everything.

Wade shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “Nothing’s wrong Petey. Just didn't like you sleeping on the sofa.”

Wade noticed how Peter had relaxed at Wade's words, leaning into the older man's palm somewhat, the gesture and added pressure made something twist in the pit of Wade's stomach.

“I was… moving around again?” Wade asked sheepishly, knowing full well Peter wouldn't have tried to intervene again if that was the case.

The last time Peter had tried to wake Wade up and calm him down, the older man had thrown the younger man nearly half way across the room and then had continued to be snippy and mean even after he had woken up.

He hadn't meant to be so harsh with Peter afterwards but he had felt so ashamed of what he had done and how he had been acting lately, and going on the defensive was something Wade had always been very good at doing. He felt awful about it every day since though and this would be the second time he had woken up from a nightmare and Peter had obviously been too afraid to stick around.

“Yes… really thought you were going to go for the side lamp this time.” Peter's tone was joking but Wade heard the worry behind it.

“I'm really sorry Petey. I know I'm scaring you.” Wade rubbed at his eyes, the gesture bringing his hand away from the younger boy which was a little disappointing. If Peter would let him and if he wasn't so worried he'd hurt the boy in his sleep, he'd have kept his hand on the Peter all night.

“The only thing that scares me is you not letting me help you when it does happen.”

Wade glanced up to see the clear exasperation on Peter's face. Which surprised him a little, he hadn't exactly lived the kind of life where someone constantly worried over him or was looking out for his best interests, the only other person to be that way with him was Vanessa, it was still weird.

“You've got you're own shit to worry 'bout Baby boy.”

Peter huffed, the look on his face making Wade’s lip twitch. Peter sure knew how to pout.

“This whole deflection thing you've got going on isn't going to change anything Wade. I'm still going to worry, I'm still going to want to help. So stop being an idiot and just let it be.”

Peter ended his tirade with a cross of his arms as if to further prove his own stubbornness to Wade.

“Let it be? Not let it go?” Wade smirked up at the younger man.

“Oh shut up.” Peter rolled his eyes but Wade noticed a small smile on his face in the dark, the expression bringing with it that hopefulness that Wade had started to feel every time Peter showed even the smallest of emotion besides distress.

“You wanna, uhm, watch Golden Girls? I watched a few without you earlier though, sorry, I got hooked.” Peter stared down at his hands as he mumbled sheepishly, his fingers nervously playing with the coat he'd had wrapped around himself earlier.

Wade gasped dramatically, flinging himself into the small space next to Peter and jostling the younger man.

“You watched without me!? Petey I'm wounded!”

Wade shifted his weight and dragged Peter's legs over his own to make more room.

“It's Bea Arthur's fault. I'm really starting to see why you like her so much.”

“Don't even think about it Baby boy.” Wade warned playfully.

“Why? You jealous?” Peter threw back, the small smile having turned into a smirk.

“Nah, no worries here. You see, Bea and I have something special. We're like soul mates. More!” Wade rested his hands on top of Peter's legs, his thumb stroking in gentle circles again.

“Besides, she's definitely more into bulky, brute kinda guys, not the cutsie, doe-eyed kind.”

“Oh? Well that's a shame then.” Peter muttered back, relaxing into the position they were in, everything just felt normal, natural maybe.

“Only for Bea.” Wade said without thinking. As soon as he realized what he had implied, his hand stilled, waiting for a reaction from the other man.

Peter had stilled somewhat too, but otherwise had no other outwardly reaction.

“Alright well, let's watch your soulmate in action then.” Peter said suddenly, obviously attempting to bring the room back to a normal atmosphere. He grabbed the remote and switched the tv on.

While Peter was busy, Wade took a moment to examine the boy's face in the light of the tv.

He swallowed hard at the dark circles under the other man's eyes, realizing how unnatural it looked on someone so young.

“How much sleep did you get? Ya know, before I woke you up.” Wade whispered, his thumb resuming its gentle ministrations, anything to make up for ruining Peter's sleep, he knew how hard it was for him to actually get any sleep.

Peter glanced back at the clock in the kitchen and hummed in thought. “Guess I got about a good half hour?”

Wade nodded, he wasn't expecting much but he was at least expecting a little more than that. “I'm sorry.”

Peter shrugged. “You know it's not your fault, besides…”

Peter smiled as he caught Wade's eye. “This is way better than sleep anyway.”

Wade chuckled and shook his head, trying to bring his attention back to the show. “You really are something Baby boy.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so with regards to the timeline. I'm basically reading over some of this story again just to make sure I haven't left awkward time holes BUT I've been kinda doing a thing where I don't use specific months to clarify when stuff happened because it's not something that the boys would have taken note of, like I wanted them to seem lost in time kind of so yeah I've been vague when I say "sometime last year" but that's just how it goes. You might also put together that within all that time Peter did have his 20th birthday but I haven't brought attention to it because it wasn't something that they would have focused on at the time sooo yeah if you have any questions or notice anything strange plot wise pretty please let me know! <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know, I'm an asshole.

Peter still couldn't quite believe what he was getting himself into as he stood on the roof of the building opposite the address Wade had given him.

He was about to, willing, meet up with a man that he shared a not so pleasant past with, in a relationship (or whatever it was!) that didn't end too greatly and help said man track down people responsible for said bad past.

He rubbed his temples through his mask and tried to slow his breathing. His throat was going dry and he could feel the beginnings of that anxious lump that formed there when he didn't calm himself properly.

He honestly didn't want to have anything to do with the people from Weapon X, just the mention of that name sent chills running up and down his spine and his spider sense buzzing in his ears. It was frustrating and just added to his already bad anxiety.

“Why am I here.” Peter breathed out, hunched over the edge of the roof to try to get a better glance into what looked to be a very dilapidated office block.

“To save poor unfortunate souls with the help of your lovely singing voice and strong mermaid daddy?”

Peter rolled his eyes over his shoulder to glare at the suited man behind.

“The word “daddy” should never, ever come out of your mouth.”

“Nah because it sounds _way_ better coming out of yours.” Deadpool drawled as he sidled up to Peter.

Peter could feel a slight burning in his ears and had to force himself to remember that he and Deadpool were not friends, not even acquaintances anymore in fact, and that that statement shouldn't do anything for him.

“What are we doing here Deadpool.” Peter mumbled, his eyes darting to one of the lower corner windows as he spotted someone walking past it.

“Technically just scouting.” Deadpool shrugged and lowered himself into a comfortable position on the roof edge, his back towards the place they were supposed to be “scouting”.

“I got a tip off that some people had been going missing lately. All of them having a little something in common.”

Spiderman kept his eyes firmly on the windows, the chills growing rapidly up and down his spine as Deadpool continued.

“That being what exactly?” He grit out, watching a small, black van pull up to what looked like a service door in the alley way next to the building.

“All of them are suspected mutants.”

Spiderman frowned hard, turning his head slightly in Deadpools direction but not taking his eyes off of the van for a second.

“I thought Weapon X was into making their own? Why kidnap people who have already developed a mutant gene?”

“Oh my dear Spidey!” Deadpool sighed as if the answer was terribly obvious. “Because that eliminates about half of their job for them!” Deadpool was gesturing widely now. “Why waste money on creating a mutant gene when you can just go shopping for one? Then all they really have to do is enhance or modify said gene however the fuck they want, throw in some mild to hardcore mind control and boom!”

Deadpool, thankfully, was speaking in hushed tones and the “boom” was only slightly louder than it should have been considering they were trying to be stealthy.

“You've got yourself another little mutant toy soldier to add to the collection.”

Spiderman shook his head slightly as two men got out of the van and headed towards the back to open up the back doors.

“This is crazy.”

“No, _I’m_ crazy.” Deadpool pointed out, shifting himself around so that he was now actually facing their target. “These guys are just sick.”

“When did this even start back up again? I thought we- you, got everyone?”

“Apparently they're like fucking cockroaches.” Deadpool grit out. He was obviously just as perplexed at their enemies survival as Spiderman was.

Spiderman watched as the back doors to the van were opened and the two men reached inside. There was bile rising in the back of his throat as he thought of someone else going through what they went through. No one deserved that.

When the men finally started re emerging from the back of the van, it was with their hands clasped around a person at the the ankles and one of them at the shoulders. The person had been tied up and a hood placed over their head, they seemed to be unconscious.

That wasn't the worst of it though, no, at least now they could confirm Weapon X was kidnapping people. What was the issue was how… small, the person looked.

“Are they taking children?!” Spiderman hissed over to Deadpool, his pulse starting to race and his body buzzing with anger at what he was seeing.

“Spideyboy, they're taking everyone. Young, old, handicapped you name it. They don't really seem to care who they get their hands on right now.”

Wades voice was calm but Peter knew the other man well enough to hear the underlying resentment towards what was happening.

They watched as the men carried the person through a doorway being held open by yet another person, which had Spiderman understanding that they knew nothing about what was going on inside, they had no idea how many guards there were or even how many prisoners they had.

“We need to get those people out of there.” He mumbled numbly, watching the door slam shut behind the men.

“I know for a fact you're smart enough to realize we don't have enough information to do that tonight.” Deadpool sighed, he seemed exhausted somehow, which Peter found somewhat interesting considering Deadpool couldn't really get physically tired.

“We have to do something. We can't let this happen, we can't just _wait around_ for more information!” Peter could hear himself getting a little hysterical, he knew he wasn't being smart, that they couldn't just go busting in with no plan, but he couldn't help think about what was happening to the people inside that building the longer they waited.

“Hey! You need to calm down right now and think with that big brain of yours before you go and do something stupid!”

The warning in Deadpool's voice was very clear and if Peter hadn't had been so worried about the people in that building he would have shut up immediately, but unfortunately his anxiety wasn't about to let this one go.

“Before _I_ do something stupid? That's rich coming from you!”

Deadpools posture straightened immediately and Peter could feel the glare from the other man almost burning a hole in the side of his mask.   
“Are you going to make me regret bringing you with bugboy?”

Peter growled and got to his feet, Deadpool following the gesture as only someone trained in combat would.

“It's _Spiderman_! Not bugboy not Spideyboy and most certainly not _baby boy_.”

“Firstly, that's a stupid fucking name to begin with.” Deadpool moved an inch closer causing Peter to tense. “And secondly, you're not acting like a man anyway! You're acting like an emotional child so half of your little superhero alter ego is wrong anyway!”

Peter felt like ripping his hair out, why he thought he could somehow work with this man was beyond him. How had he ever spent so much time with Wade to begin with? And most of it was willingly after the whole Weapon X situation. How had they both changed so much that they couldn't stand to be in the same vicinity without fighting!

Peter opened his mouth to retaliate but was side tracked by the slow creaking of the alleyway door being opened again.

Both men glanced over the side of the building and saw one of the men walk out, shake someone's hand under the door frame with a huge smile on his face and then the door was closed.

Peter's hands shook as he watched the smirk on the man's face as he lit up a cigarette.

How could he be so casual? How could people do these things to others without feeling anything? It made Peter angry to think that there were people in the world that were like that. He hated it.

“Whatever you're thinking about doing… don't.” Deadpool warned from Spiderman's side, but as soon as Deadpool had spoken, Peter had made the decision not to listen. Deadpool was crazy and you don't listen or argue with crazy.

Spiderman flung himself over the edge of the building, hearing Deadpool curse softly from where he had been left on the rooftop.

He didn't even try to be silent as he landed next to the man in the alleyway.

The man started and dropped the cigarette he was so eagerly puffing away at to the floor.   
“Fuck! What- who the fuck are you then?”

Spiderman walked slowly towards the other man, assessing the situation as carefully as he could even though his mind felt a little fuzzy, like his thoughts were somewhat clouded and his body was moving automatically towards the threat. The man had a gun, but it was doubtful that he'd be able to reach it before Spiderman got to him.

“Surprised you haven't heard of me.” Spiderman commented casually, still moving forward. “Considering the line of work you're in, I’d somehow expect you to know the supers in your immediate vicinity.”

The man's brow creased as he looked the younger man up and down, something akin to recognition flashed across his face and his lip curled. “You're that spider freak they keep goin’ on about!”

Peter couldn't help the small spark of smug he felt run through him as the other man took an involuntary step backwards.

“That's right.” Spiderman answered calmly, still moving forward. “And you…”

Spiderman let out a shot of web to catch the man's hand as he began to draw his gun, sending it far across to the other side of the alleyway.

Spiderman moved quickly after that, the other man still staring towards where his gun had landed as the vigilante grappled him against the alley wall, the man hitting the wall with a grunt.

“... You're the guy who likes to kidnap people- _children_ \- and test on, and torture them!” Spiderman growled the words out, his arm pushing harder into the other man's neck.

“Whoooo damn! Spidey got bite after all!” He heard Deadpool crow suddenly from behind him, only to burst into a fit of giggles from something one of the voices had probably said.

He noticed how the man in his grasp seemed to get even more tense at the site of the mercenary behind the vigilante, which only spurred Spiderman on further.

“Make him piss himself already Spidey and let's get outta here.” Deadpool cackled

Spiderman smirked under the mask, his arm digging deep into the man's throat feeling how things shifted and popped slightly at the pressure.

“Oh, I'm gonna do more than that.” Spiderman whispered menacingly, watching with fixed satisfaction as the man's eyes below him went wide.

“Wait what?” Came Deadpools confused response. He had stopped giggling and the playful tone had all but left his voice.  
Spiderman gave a mental snicker, good, maybe this would show Wade just how much of a big deal he could actually be.

“Men like you don't deserve to walk around among actual good people, innocent people.” Spiderman muttered low and menacingly at the man in his grasp.

“Eh.. Spidey?”

“You’re the worst type of monster there is you know that? Because when everyone is looking for the aliens or the demons or ghosts or the mutated _freaks_ that may be hiding under their beds, they pass over the sick bastards that only appear to be human.”

The man's eyes had started to roll and his struggles had calmed down some Spiderman half noticed with some satisfaction.

“Spidey!”

“You're the worst of them all!” Spiderman continued to growl as the man went limp in his hold.

“Spiderman!”

Spiderman could hear blood rushing through his ears as the man's grip on his arm fell, everything should have been pretty quiet in the empty alleyway, so why was everything so loud?

“Peter stop! You're killing him!”

Peter blinked at hearing his name and gasped in a quick breath as he looked at the man before him, trying to breath.   
Peter dropped him to the ground quickly, the man was silent and still for a few seconds before he started gasping for air again.

  
“What the hell Deadpool?” He turned his attention angrily towards the mercenary. He was shocked at how he had gotten sucked in by his rage so easily, but he was also kind of angry that the merc stopped him, had said his friggen name out loud! Who does that!?

“Me?” Deadpool asked incredulously, mouth hanging open comically through the mask and a finger pointing at himself.   
“Exqueeze me but you were the one going all Rambo on the guy!”

  
Spiderman gave the man lying on the floor a quick once over, satisfied that he was still breathing before turning on Deadpool. "And since when do you care if anyone lives or dies?"

"I care when it's you of all people about to do the killing!"

  
The statement had Peter stilling. He wasn't really going to kill the guy though… was he?

"Look, I know this guy is lower than low but you are not a killer Baby boy and I ain't gonna let you tarnish your pretty little reputation over this asshole… I thought you were better than this.”

That.

_That_ made Peter angry. Deadpool was the last person that got to throw judgment out at anyone but himself!   
"I'm not sure what made you think that but you don't get to think anything about me because you don't know me anymore!”

“Maybe you're right, maybe I don't know how that pretty little head really works anymore, but I doubt you could have changed so much that you suddenly think you're a killer.”

“You don't know what I am.” Spiderman muttered lowly, hearing Deadpool sigh loudly next to him.

“Fine, you wanna play this angsty, haunted character then fine with me, but you're not gonna do it during my investigation. You're out.” Deadpool allowed Spiderman the chance to argue before he turned and started to walk away but Peters heart was beating too loud, the rushing in his ears not letting him comprehend the words fast enough.

“Wait, what?” He sputtered, moving toward the other man.

“You heard me. Jesus kid you really need to get your shit together. And that's coming from me!”

Peter's eyes grew wide as his heart rate quickened and his breathing came out harsher. “I- I've been trying! That's- all I've been-.” He couldn't get the words out, it felt like they were stuck in his throat, like they were something literal and hard that had gotten stuck in his throat and prevented him from breathing properly.

“I have!” He pressed out with a gasp, he ripped the bottom of his mask off so that he could breathe through his panic, feeling his ears burn with embarrassment at the fact that this was how he showed Wade he was “getting his shit together”.

He could feel that Wade had gotten closer but not close enough to touch him, he just stood close until Peter managed to get his heart rate and breathing under control.

Peter swallowed loudly and righted himself slightly after a few minutes, giving Deadpool a half hearted glare. “I'm fine.”

“I know.” Deadpool replied with a nonchalant shrug.

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments after that. Peter was waiting for Deadpool to say something, Deadpool always had something to say. It seemed, this time though, that Deadpool was waiting for Peter to say something first for once.

“So…-” Peter began.

“Food.” Deadpool interrupted, more a statement than a question, walking away before Peter could even gather his thoughts quick enough.

“Panic attacks are hungry work bugboy.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the continued support and I just want to apologise to everyone I haven't replied to yet! My brain just hasn't been in the right space lately but I'm trying to correct that!

**Author's Note:**

> You can also follow me on Tumblr if you're ever in the mood to waste precious time:
> 
> www.tumblr.com/blog/cometqveen


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